tritium

[ trit-ee-uhm, trish-, trish-uhm ]

noun

, Chemistry.

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

tritium

/ 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

tritium

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tritium¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tritium¹

C20: New Latin, from Greek tritos third

Example Sentences

Instead, Commonwealth’s machine, like most other fusion reactors, would rely on deuterium and tritium, both natural isotopes of hydrogen.

From MIT Technology Review

The way that the JET works is by using two ingredients—deuterium and tritium.

From Popular-Science

The process makes helium, a nontoxic gas unlike carbon dioxide and radioactive tritium.

From Popular-Science

While tritium may sound concerning, its half-life is only about a century, making it less environmentally harmful than other energy sources.

From Popular-Science

That fuel is a mixture of deuterium and tritium, varieties of hydrogen that respectively contain one or two neutrons in their atomic nuclei.

From Science News

Wanted to trade all the tritium we'd need to blow up a planet just for trees; because they worshipped trees!

From Project Gutenberg

Another kind, which can be made in a nuclear reactor, is called tritium.

From Project Gutenberg