Isotope of hydrogen in the context of "Tritium"

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⭐ Core Definition: Isotope of hydrogen

Hydrogen (1H) has three naturally occurring isotopes: H, H, and H. H and H are stable, while H has a half-life of 12.32 years. Heavier isotopes also exist; all are synthetic and have a half-life of less than 1 zeptosecond (10 s).

Hydrogen is the only element whose isotopes have different names that remain in common use today: H is deuterium and H is tritium. The symbols D and T are sometimes used for deuterium and tritium; IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) accepts said symbols, but recommends the standard isotopic symbols H and H, to avoid confusion in alphabetic sorting of chemical formulas. H, with no neutrons, may be called protium to disambiguate. During the early study of radioactivity, some other heavy radioisotopes were given names, but such names are rarely used today.

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👉 Isotope of hydrogen in the context of Tritium

Tritium (from Ancient Greek τρίτος (trítos) 'third') or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of 12.32 years. The tritium nucleus (t, sometimes called a triton) contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of the common isotope hydrogen-1 (protium) contains one proton and no neutrons, and that of non-radioactive hydrogen-2 (deuterium) contains one proton and one neutron. Tritium is the heaviest particle-bound isotope of hydrogen. It is one of the few nuclides with a distinct name. The use of the name hydrogen-3, though more systematic, is much less common.

Naturally occurring tritium is extremely rare on Earth. The atmosphere has only trace amounts, formed by the interaction of its gases with cosmic rays. It can be produced artificially by irradiation of lithium or lithium-bearing ceramic pebbles in a nuclear reactor and is a low-abundance byproduct in normal operations of nuclear reactors.

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Isotope of hydrogen in the context of Hydrogen

Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has the symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all normal matter. Under standard conditions, hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules with the formula H2, called dihydrogen, or sometimes hydrogen gas, molecular hydrogen, or simply hydrogen. Dihydrogen is colorless, odorless, non-toxic, and highly combustible. Stars, including the Sun, mainly consist of hydrogen in a plasma state, while on Earth, hydrogen is found as the gas H2 (dihydrogen) and in molecules, such as in water and organic compounds. The most common isotope of hydrogen, H, consists of one proton, one electron, and no neutrons.

Hydrogen gas was first produced artificially in the 17th century by the reaction of acids with metals. Henry Cavendish, in 1766–1781, identified hydrogen gas as a distinct substance and discovered its property of producing water when burned: this is the origin of hydrogen's name, which means 'water-former' (from Ancient Greek: ὕδωρ, romanizedhúdōr, lit.'water', and γεννάω, gennáō, 'I bring forth'). Understanding the colors of light absorbed and emitted by hydrogen was a crucial part of the development of quantum mechanics.

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