Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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Three versions of the simplest element in the periodic table.

Protium, Deuterium and Tritium are all hydrogen, but the number of neutrons in their nuclei makes them behave very differently.

¹H is ordinary hydrogen and makes up almost all naturally occurring hydrogen. ²H, or deuterium, contains an extra neutron and is still stable.

Then there’s ³H, or tritium. With two neutrons, it’s radioactive and decays by beta emission with a half life of about 12.3 years.

And unlike the other two samples, tritium can even be used to produce its own continuous glow when its beta particles excite a phosphor! Very cool ^^

@simonschemiebaukasten

#hydrogen #chemistry #radioactive #nuclearphysics #tritium