Table of Contents
- 1 Why is tritium unstable?
- 2 How does an atom of tritium differ from an atom of hydrogen 1?
- 3 How many protons neutrons and electrons are in a tritium atom?
- 4 Why is the tritium isotope radioactive?
- 5 How do the isotopes hydrogen-2 and hydrogen 3 differ?
- 6 How would the nucleus of hydrogen 1 and hydrogen-2 differ?
- 7 Why is tritium not found naturally in the earth crust?
- 8 How is tritium formed?
- 9 Why is the tritium nucleus unstable?
- 10 What is the half life of a tritium atom?
Why is tritium unstable?
Tritium is a radioactive form, or “isotope”, of hydrogen. It has two neutrons where regular hydrogen does not have any, which makes tritium unstable and therefore radioactive. As it decays it gives off, or emits, beta radiation.
How does an atom of tritium differ from an atom of hydrogen 1?
Tritium (3H) is the only radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of a tritium atom consists of a proton and two neutrons. This contrasts with the nucleus of an ordinary hydrogen atom (which consists solely of a proton) and a deuterium atom (which consists of one proton and one neutron).
How many protons neutrons and electrons are in a tritium atom?
Tritium is a hydrogen isotope consisting of one proton, two neutrons and one electron. It is radioactive, with a half-life of 12.32 years.
How many neutrons are found in tritium?
two neutrons
tritium, (T, or 3H), the isotope of hydrogen with atomic weight of approximately 3. Its nucleus, consisting of one proton and two neutrons, has triple the mass of the nucleus of ordinary hydrogen.
Why is tritium stable?
He-3, which consists of 2 protons and a neutron, has lower ground state energy than tritium nucleus. So the tritium nucleus undergoes a beta-decay, meaning one of its neutrons turns into a proton, and it becomes a stable Helium-3.
Why is the tritium isotope radioactive?
A low-energy beta electron As the decay directly produces a ground state helium nucleus, there is no excited state and hence no gamma emission. Tritium is a beta-emitting radioactive isotope of hydrogen.
How do the isotopes hydrogen-2 and hydrogen 3 differ?
All three forms have one proton (pink) and one electron (dark green) but differ in the number of neutrons (gray) in the nucleus. Protium, or ordinary hydrogen (top), has no neutrons. Deuterium, or hydrogen-2 (bottom left) has one neutron. Tritium, or hydrogen-3 (bottom right) has two neutrons.
How would the nucleus of hydrogen 1 and hydrogen-2 differ?
Hydrogen-2 has one neutron; hydrogen-1 has none. Hydrogen-2 has two protons; hydrogen-1 has one. Hydrogen-2 has one proton; hydrogen-1 has none.
How many neutrons are in an atom of helium?
2
Helium/Atomic number
What is the mass number of an isotope of this atom that has 2 neutrons?
The mass number of the hydrogen isotope that contains two neutrons is three, making it an atom of the hydrogen-3 isotope.
Why is tritium not found naturally in the earth crust?
While a normal hydrogen atom has one proton, a tritium atom has two neutrons and one proton. This isotope is radioactive, and will slowly decay over a period of several decades; due to its short half-life, it is not found in nature.
How is tritium formed?
Tritium (abbreviated as 3H) is a hydrogen atom that has two neutrons in the nucleus and one proton. Tritium is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere when cosmic rays strike nitrogen molecules in the air. Tritium is also produced during nuclear weapons explosions, and as a byproduct in nuclear reactors.
Why is the tritium nucleus unstable?
The tritium nucleus, or triton, is unstable simply because it is more massive than its decay products which are a helium-3 nucleus, an electron, and an electron anti-neutrino.
How is tritium produced in a nuclear reactor?
Nuclear reactors produce tritium as a direct product of nuclear fission as well as through activation of other ma- terials that are in close proximity to the fission process. These materials are generally limited to those that are found inside a nuclear reactor core and can include con- trols rods and cooling water.
How does tritium decay into helium 3?
If a nucleus has nearby more stable nuclei, then it decays trying to become more stable. Tritium has 1 proton and two neutrons. If one of its neutrons convert to a proton, emitting and electron and an anti-neutrino, it becomes helium 3 with two protons and one neutron. Tritium has a nuclear mass of 3.0160493 u.
What is the half life of a tritium atom?
Biological and health effects The half-life of tritium is 12.3 years; for a given amount of tritium, half the atoms will undergo radioactive decay (emitting the beta particle discussed above) in 12.3 years. The beta particle that is emitted by tritium has a very low energy.