Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
Radium vs tritium, two radioactive ways of making something glow! 🌟
Radium was once widely used on watch and clock dials because its radiation could continuously excite a phosphor and produce light. The problem is that radium produces energetic radiation and eventually generates radioactive radon as part of its decay chain... oof, not really a great thing.
Modern radioactive luminous devices can instead use tritium, a much lower-energy beta emitter. The tritium gas is sealed inside tiny glass tubes coated with phosphor, producing a continuous glow without needing to be charged by light!
Same basic idea at the end of the day, but two very different radioactive sources.
@simonschemiebaukasten
#radium #tritium #radioactive #radiation #clock
Radium vs tritium, two radioactive ways of making something glow! 🌟
Radium was once widely used on watch and clock dials because its radiation could continuously excite a phosphor and produce light. The problem is that radium produces energetic radiation and eventually generates radioactive radon as part of its decay chain... oof, not really a great thing.
Modern radioactive luminous devices can instead use tritium, a much lower-energy beta emitter. The tritium gas is sealed inside tiny glass tubes coated with phosphor, producing a continuous glow without needing to be charged by light!
Same basic idea at the end of the day, but two very different radioactive sources.
@simonschemiebaukasten
#radium #tritium #radioactive #radiation #clock
