As a materials scientist, this one of the few science channels where I actually learn something, or at least re-learn stuff that I never use and have already forgotten. Keep up the great work 👍
funny, funny, not so funny! in nuclear reactors, Tritium is a real problem. Atomic Hydrogen (and therefore , too) tends to penetrate metals and makes them brittle over time. Wiggener-effect.
Some of my firearms have tritium night sights on them. They have to be replaced every 10 to 15 years because the tritium gets so dim it basically becomes useless at night.
@@ibidibi From around $50 to $125 or so, plus labor that a lot of shooters do themselves. You replace entire sights, not just the tritium vials and sights alone vary in complexity and materials and therefore in price. Strictly speaking, the tritium doesn't get dim, it decays until there's no longer enough decaying to energize the phosphorus paint in the vials, or the phosphorus paint itself degrades. Night sights are typically marketed as being good for about 12 years - the approximate half-life of the tritium, as mentioned in the video. But yeah, it's easier and more common to just say that the tritium gets dim, or wears out, no big deal.
Yah, I've got a set of TruGlo TFOs on my "WTF was that?" Glock - green up front/yellow in back. Ironically, the fiber-optic performance in low-light is more impressive than anything...almost too bright
My physics teacher was epic, then I went on to learn chemistry. This was back in the 1990’s. I’m catching up now. Your channel is epic. It still strands the basics of what I learned, but now more refined. I’d like to thank you very much for the efforts you personally put into this channel. Kids today will learn a lot from this channel. Oh, & I’m Welsh. 🏴👍
That meter can only detect betas down to about 50 keV while tritium releases a beta at 18 keV. With the proper equipment you could have detected the tritium.
@@Anankin12 Which he DID say. What I said, because it is true, is that the meter he was using is not capable of detecting tritium no matter how much there was. Using a meter that can't detect what you are looking for is kind of pointless and doesn't show anything of value.
@@PHONKPOWER Did you even watch the video YOU linked to? He even says he is NOT detecting the radiation from the tritium. He explains that he is detecting bremsstrahlung, photons released when the beta radiation from the tritium slows down as it encounters atoms. I mean come on dud, just watch the video YOU link to and it answers your question and it confirms my claim about detecting radiation from the decay of tritium.
You wouldn't expect to be able to detect radiation from tritium with a Geiger counter because the beta particles are not very energetic--you need a liquid scintillation counter. Beta particles emitted by the decay of Phosphorus 32, however, are quite energetic and can be detected with a regular Geiger counter.
It IS possible to detect Tritium with an average Geiger counter. The problem is, however, that Tritium gas is lighter than air and would immediately float up and away the instant it's freed from it's vial. One would have to break the vial, and capture the gas, under an inverted containment device to be able to measure it
@@davelowets the geiger countwr he is using can only detect down to 50kev Ur point also stands tho he shoulve tried it with both the geiger counter and vials sealed in a ziplock bag
I really love how this channel does the experiment with it's viewers and only gives the answer based on the experimental results. Feels like I am doing the experiment myself!
Something to say: small vial's of tritium are use in watches, replacing luminova so there is no need to expose watch to light for glowing in dark. They last for about 10 years still glowing (if I'm good remember). For example Luminox watches.
*Action lab* is basically teaching us how the Hulk got his *super powers.* 😁 Love it. *edit:* why is it called *beta radiation* and not electron ejection?*
Probably because it's just the second type. There is alpha, beta, and gamma radiation that I know of. Basically like called them radiation 1, 2, and 3. Very creative.
Sphakamiso Zondi Theres alpha, beta, and gamma decay While alpha decay ejects He and beta decay (as said) e-, gamma decay ejects short-length electromagnetic waves called gamma rays, which follow the alpha decay if the decay energy exceeds the sum of the kinetic energy of the alpha-decayed element and Helium (basically if the Element is still in a higher state of energy compared to its base status after the alpha decay) So i guess they just called it alpha, beta and gamma for consistency as they are the first 3 letters in the Greek alphabet and all resemble the decay of an element.
I just want to say thank you for everything you are doing. Somehow you manage to blow my mind and open my eyes for the world with every video. You are amazing! Please keep doing it.
I'm really glad you posted this because I have a tritium vial and I've been wondering what would happen if it were to be accidentally destroyed. Excellent explanation, as usual!
@@Aleksiinascreations_Aleksi haha glad to hear you survived it. The best I've heard is to open windows in the room (if possible) and stay out for a bit, but it sounds like that's possibly not even necessary. Though I'll probably still take precautions if it happens.
@@NippyNep haha. When fidget spinners were popular there was a niche market for high quality, exotic metal spinners made by gun/knife manufacturers. The higher end ones had small (1.5mmX10mm) vials of tritium in them, and I wanted to switch them out for a different color. I didn’t realize that they used UV optical resin to glue them in place and I broke one trying to get it out. TLDR I wasted a bunch of money on tritium for a fidget spinner made out of tungsten. The vials I bought were only like $20 each though, which is still damn expensive lmao
I have an tritium exit sign made in 1988. It’s still glowing after 32 years. I also have an ACOG rifle scope where the reticle it illuminated with tritium.
ACOGs are the shit I had one on my M4 when I was in the service. They also use a fiber optic cable to power the sight with solar energy. No batteries need ever!
*0:04** LMAO! You're freakin me out homie!* You're trying to stab a miniature chernobyl like you're a human Godzilla while keeping that 'constipated look' face. - Off the charts hilarious!
In the industry, Tritium is considered a hard-to-detect and it is unlikely the meter he used could see the week energy beta emitted. Trust me, he absorbed through the skin/ingested quite a bit of that Tritium by breaking that vial. Lucky him, Tritium has a short biological half life.
Finally found the specs of his counter. It is a RADIASCAN 701A. The lower beta energy threshold is 0.05 Mev. Sorry to say but Tritium Beta energy is 0.018 Mev. Too low for this counter to see it. Sorry, but don't try this experiment at home!
I would assume we ingest insignificant amounts of tritium with some amount of regularity. It naturally makes up a minuscule percentage of hydrogen, but given that hydrogen is so abundant I’d doubt that there weren’t at least a couple atoms of tritium for every so much amount of water we drink, whether it be per gallon or per the total amount consumed in a year.
Anything that glows for 12 years, can be seen by the naked eye, I do not want around me. I know all about the physics involved and why its safe. but I still do not want it near me. for some reason.
My carry pistol has tritium sights that have been pressed up against my skin for over a decade. I swap them out every 2 years so it’s fresh tritium also. No ill effects whatsoever, and that’s almost constant contact with my skin.
I was more intrigued by that geiger counter than anything. I've already got a Radalert and a Radex but they definitely can't differentiate between alpha, beta and gamma emissions like that one apparently can...
In some old exit signs I found at my dad's work, they had florescent lights and a lead-acid battery, rather than tritium vials, which would probably be more expensive .
Precious tritium is what makes this project go. There's only 25 pounds of it on the whole planet. I'd like to thank Harry Osborn and Oscorp Industries for providing it.
I had a friend who worked at a nuclear facility that had a lot of tritium. He said that a couple of times they had accidents and when they did they just sent all the employees to the bar to drink beer for the rest of the day. That helped flush the system.
Out of many RU-vid and other explanations of tritium decay, this is the only one that includes the up quark and W- boson steps. Even ChatGPT didn't include these steps. Thanks for being precise, it DOES make a difference.
Even inhaling tritium isn't that bad as long as you are in a dry environment the problem with tritium is it attaches to water molecules very easily so it attaches the humidity in the air then you breathe it in then it gets into your body and is very bad. We used to deal with large bottles of tritium when I was in the military about the size of a door knob or so.
You did not do science in school? Like the advance one? I thought people watching Action labs videos have done that. But now that I think about it, people who did not do advance science may watch his videos, because why not.
@@Jey187 I took physics and chemistry. We never really got down smaller than protons and neutrons from what I remember. I have heard of quarks of course, but don't really understand them. As for what I'm doing on the channel, I find science interesting, even if I'm not in a scientific field or highly trained in the subject.
@@jasepoag8930 You are in what grade? Yeah, you do not have to be very knowledgeble in science to find it interesting and to like watching scientific videos... I wonder tho if at least one person who had not choose science as a subject enjoy these kind of scientific videos. Maybe yes maybe no... But I think yes.
@@jasepoag8930 Haha... Maybe at your time, quarks may not have been a well known thing or was not in the curriculum or you forgot about the explanation of quarks.
Laughing at the silliness of this video for two reasons. 1.) The moment the vials are broken, the tritium would escape and shoot straight up to the ceiling and eventually out into the upper atmosphere. It would not be around long enough to even detect near the vial. 2.) I don't get the whole point of destroying art to get the tritium vials. You can buy those vials online, by the dozens, in multiple different colors, dirt cheap.
I used a very small tritium vial to add about 200mCi of tritium to RF excited co2 laser gas tube and it greatly increased the response to excitation with immediate ignition of the tube. It did away with the need to tickle the tube with a keep alive voltage 🤓
The Action Lab - GREAT VIDEO THANK YOU! Could you also make a video about uranium glass, i have some at home and was wondering how its made, why it's green, why it glows under a UV-light and how much (if any) radiation it emits?
It’s actually fine to eat off of as long as it is not cracked or chipped. It does emit a small amount of radiation but nothing outside of a normal range, you would get more radiation from a day outside in the sun than the period of time you would use uranium glass for a meal.
You forgot thet Tritium is hydrogen. As soon as you broke the vial it goes upwards and escapes through every hole in the roof. As long as you do not breathe it in - it is gone the moment you break the vial.
One of the radiation safety officers where I work told me that a hand-held detector capable of detecting tritium radiation (must have an extremely thin window) costs $10000. But just because you can't detect it doesn't mean it won't be a hazard. If you break a tritium vial in the room with you (as opposed to a fume hood), you WILL be inhaling some of it.
Yup it isn't too pleasant to inhale, gives a metallic taste like tongue testing a 9V battery from what I was told by a fellow that got exposed to 45kCi worth. The little vials he broke are probably about 125mCi worth.
@@trinitronaphthalene they are just being smartasses. Thoriated tungsten is used as a welding electrode on TIG welders. Tungsten is very dense and can handle extreme heat before melting. Im not sure why they treat it with thorium maybe our welder friend could tell us.
A neutrino walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Get out! We don’t serve any neutrinos in this bar.” The neutrino replies, “Don’t mind me; I’m just passing through.”
There is a possibility that some where in the world there is a abandoned bunker where tritium is decaying and it some day may release a anti-neutrino which passes through the South pole and at the same time a neutrino also passes from there , they both meet each other at the south pole where the giant neutrino detector is and we may find something marvelous 😊
Tritium is lighter than air... the instant you puncture the vial, the tritium gas is going to rise up and be gone. Perhaps you could detect it if you broke a vial under an inverted glass cup, or something similar.
After the transformation, the nucleus has two protons, and one electron? Why does the stray electron go shooting off instead of being attracted by the nucleus?
"Geiger counters (survey meters) are not sensitive to tritium radiation and therefore wipe tests and a liquid scintillation counter are necessary to determine levels of contamination."
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh why ask something you already know brah? You literally answered your own question. Its caled heavy water or deuterated water boi and its exactly how you described it. So my take from that is that you seriously need to bring ur ass back to the drawing board and re think your direction in terms of extremely mediocre and fallacy filled comments on the website, youtube. Ask yourself if your here to give knowledge or gain knowledge and try rub together 2 or 3 of those sluggish neurons in your pathetic head to decide and move forward in this deep and accountable realm of the comment section
I come back from a science experiment to do with radioactive materials and guess what pops up in my notifications, this video. Is this a radioactive day?
You might be able to create tritium Extract hydrogen from a lithium ion battery by putting 10 volts worth of them in water mixed with table salt so hydrogen comes out of the cathode (pure oxygen comes out of the anode too) Rip open a smoke detector, extract the americium-241 and put it in some kind of container also containing the hydrogen witch would ionise the hydrogen to create tritium Then just coat the container with a phosphor to make it glow
Q: Which is more powerful/useful, as perhaps a fuel source, Deuterium or Tritium? Q: Also, are more heavier isotopes of Hydrogen even possible (Tetrium, Pentium, Hexium, etc.), or would they be so unstable as to decay nearly instantly? btw - I would think that most of the health concerns with Tritium would be at the point of manufacture. Due to the relative volumes of the stuff, if not the reactor necessary to make it from regular Hydrogen. (I'd still want to wear a breather though, if I had anything to do with it - especially at industrial quantities). That & if you'd confuse a mild radioactive, like Tritium, with something significantly more toxic, like Radium (which was also used for it's phosphorescent glow in the 1920s & 30s). Go Google "Radium girls" & "Radium jaw" for more graphic details...
People also regularly ingest nitro glycerin for their heart. Yep. A relative still can’t believe people take lithium too. They worked in the steel pants and when lithium came in, they would throw a drop or too in a puddle in the parking lot and watch it explode. Medical doctors are the evilest mad scientists of them all..
