tritium

American  

[trit-ee-uhm, trish-, trish-uhm] / ˈtrɪt i əm, ˈtrɪʃ-, ˈtrɪʃ əm /

noun

Chemistry.

1. an isotope of hydrogen having an atomic weight of three. 3 H, T

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tritium British  

/ ˈtrɪtɪəm /

noun

1. a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, occurring in trace amounts in natural hydrogen and produced in a nuclear reactor. Tritiated compounds are used as tracers. Symbol: T or ³H; half-life: 12.5 years

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tritium Scientific  

/ trĭt′ē-əm,trĭsh′ē-əm /

1. A radioactive isotope of hydrogen whose nucleus has one proton and two neutrons with atomic mass of about 3 and a half life of 12.5 years. Tritium is rare in nature but can be made artificially in nuclear reactions. It is used in thermonuclear weapons and luminescent paints, and sometimes as a tracer.

2. See more at hydrogen

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Etymology

Origin of tritium

1930–35; < New Latin < Greek trít ( os ) third ( tri- tri- + -tos adj. suffix) + New Latin -ium -ium

Example Sentences

First-generation reactors will almost certainly be fueled by the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium.

From The Wall Street Journal

In their study, Zupan and his colleagues examined a fusion reactor design that uses deuterium and tritium fuel inside a lithium lined vessel.

From Science Daily

Its setup includes a powerful windowless gaseous tritium source, a high-resolution spectrometer that precisely measures electron energies, and a detector that records the particles.

From Science Daily

The state of Illinois sued Exelon after finding tritium in the water near one of its nuclear reactors.

From Barron's

The files said one incident, in August 2019, resulted in the release of "unnecessary radioactive waste" in the form of low levels of tritium, which is used in nuclear warheads.

From BBC