Tritium - what is it? Weight of tritium

Until quite recently people believed that an atom is an integral, indivisible particle. Later it became clear that it consists of a nucleus and electrons rotating around it. At the same time, the central part was again considered indivisible and integral. Today we know that it consists of protons and neutrons. And, depending on the number of the latter, one and the same substance can have several isotopes. So, tritium - what is it? What is this substance, how to get it and use it?

Tritium - what is it?

Hydrogen is the simplest substance in nature. If we talk about its most common form, which will be discussed in more detail below, then its atom consists of only one proton and one electron. However, it can also accept "extra" particles, which somewhat change its properties. Thus, the core of tritium consists of a proton and two neutrons. And if protium, that is the simplest form of hydrogen - is the most widespread element in the universe, then you can not say about its "improved" version of this - in nature it occurs in small quantities.

The isotope of hydrogen tritium (the name comes from the Greek word "third") was discovered in 1934 by Rutherford, Oliphant and Hartek. And in fact, to find it they tried very long and hard. Immediately after the discovery of deuterium and heavy water in 1932, scientists began to search for this isotope by increasing the sensitivity of spectral analysis in the study of ordinary hydrogen. However, in spite of everything, their attempts were vain - even in the most concentrated samples it was not possible to get even a hint of the presence of a substance that was simply obliged to exist. But in the end, the search was crowned with success - Oliphant synthesized the element with the help of heavy water in the laboratory of Rutherford.

Briefly, the definition of tritium sounds as follows: a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, the core of which consists of a proton and two neutrons. So, what about it is known?

On hydrogen isotopes

The first element of the periodic table is also the most common in the universe. In nature, it occurs in the form of one of its three isotopes: protium, deuterium or tritium. The core of the first consists of one proton, which gave him the name. By the way, this is the only stable element, which lacks neutrons. The next in the series of hydrogen isotopes is deuterium. The nucleus of its atom consists of a proton and a neutron, and the name goes back to the Greek word "second".

In the laboratory, even heavier hydrogen isotopes with mass numbers from 4 to 7 were also obtained. Their half-life is limited to fractions of seconds.

Properties

The atomic mass of tritium is about 3.02 a. According to its physical properties, this substance is hardly different from ordinary hydrogen, that is, under normal conditions it is a light gas without color, taste and odor, and has a high thermal conductivity. At a temperature of about -250 degrees Celsius becomes an easy and fluid colorless liquid. The range within which it is in this aggregate state is rather narrow. The melting point is about 259 degrees Celsius, below which hydrogen becomes a snow-like mass. In addition, this element dissolves fairly well in some metals.

However, there are some differences in the properties. First, the third isotope has less reactivity, and secondly, tritium is radioactive and therefore unstable. The half-life is just over 12 years. In the process of radiolysis, it turns into the third isotope of helium with the emission of an electron and antineutrinos.

Receiving

In nature, tritium is contained in small amounts and is formed most often in the upper layers of the atmosphere in the collision of cosmic particles and, for example, nitrogen atoms. However, there is also an industrial method for obtaining this element by irradiating lithium-6 with neutrons in nuclear reactors.

The synthesis of tritium in a volume, whose mass is about 1 kilogram, costs about 30 million dollars.

Using

So, we learned a little more about tritium - what is it and its properties. But why is it needed? We will understand a little below. According to some reports, the world commercial demand for tritium is about 500 grams per year, and about 7 kg is spent on military needs.

According to the American Institute for Energy and Environmental Studies, from 1955 to 1996 in the US, 2.2 centners of superheavy hydrogen were produced. And for 2003, the total reserves of this element were about 18 kilograms. What are they used for?

First, tritium is necessary to maintain the combat capability of nuclear weapons, which, as is known, are still possessed by some countries. Secondly, thermonuclear power engineering can not do without it. Still tritium is used in some scientific studies, for example, in geology with its help date the natural waters. Another function is the power supply of the backlight in hours. In addition, experiments are under way to create radioisotope generators of ultra-low power, for example, for feeding autonomous sensors. It is expected that in this case their service life will be about 20 years. The cost of such a generator will be about one thousand dollars.

As original souvenirs also there are key chains with a small amount of tritium inside. They emit a glow and look rather exotic, especially if you know about the inner content.

Danger

Tritium is radioactive, which explains part of its properties and uses. Its half-life is about 12 years, while helium-3 is formed with the emission of antineutrinos and electrons. In the process of this reaction, 18.59 kW of energy is released and the beta particles propagate in the air. It may seem strange to a stranger that a radioactive isotope is used, say, for lighting in a clock, because it can be dangerous, is not it? In fact, tritium hardly threatens human health, because beta particles in the process of its decay spread to a maximum of 6 millimeters and can not overcome the simplest barriers. However, this does not mean that working with it is absolutely safe - any ingestion with food, air or absorption through the skin can lead to problems. Although in most cases it is easily and quickly output, it does not always happen. So, tritium - what is this in terms of radiation hazard?

Protection measures

Despite the fact that the small energy of the decay of tritium does not allow radiation to spread seriously, so that beta particles can not overcome even the skin, do not neglect your health. When working with this isotope, you can, of course, not use a radiation protection suit, but basic rules, such as closed clothing and surgical gloves, must be observed. Since the main danger of tritium is when ingested, it is important to stop the activity in which this becomes possible. In the rest there is nothing to worry about.

If, nevertheless, he enters a large number in the tissues of the body, acute or chronic radiation sickness may develop, depending on the duration, dose and regularity of the exposure. In some cases, this ailment is successfully cured, but with extensive lesions, a fatal outcome is possible.

In any normal organism there are traces of tritium, although they are absolutely insignificant and hardly affect the radiation background. Well, in lovers of watches with luminous arrows, its level is several times higher, although it is still considered safe.

Super Heavy Water

Tritium, like ordinary hydrogen, can form new substances. In particular, it enters the molecule of the so-called superheavy (super-heavy) water. The properties of this substance are not too different from the habit of H ₂ O for every person. While tritium water can also participate in metabolism, it is characterized by rather high toxicity and is excreted within a ten-day period for which tissues can receive a fairly high degree of irradiation. And although this substance is less dangerous in itself, it is more dangerous due to the period during which it is in the body.