Why is tritium so expensive?

From what I understand tritium is produced as a waste product in heavy water moderated reactors in quantities exceeding commercial demand and that it can also be made from lithium (which is a common and cheap metal) by neutron capture.

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 much tritium is in the world?

Trace amounts of tritium occur naturally on Earth when cosmic rays interact with the atmosphere. Most tritium that is available is made via neutron activation of lithium-6 in a nuclear reactor. Tritium is also produced by nuclear fission of uranium-235, uranium-233, and polonium-239.

Can you buy californium?

It costs around $30,000 per gram. A gram of californium-252 can cost $27 million per gram, which makes it considerably more expensive than lutetium, but less than francium. Fortunately, only a tiny quantity of californium is needed at a time.

Where can I find californium?

Only two sites produce californium-252: the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States, and the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad, Russia.

Can you drink tritium?

Also, drinking tritium water, unlike drinking deuterium water, is extremely dangerous because tritium is radioactive (while deuterium isn’t).

Where is tritium found on Earth?

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.

Does Rolex use tritium?

Rolex adopted Tritium as a safer alternative to Radium (another radioactive material); however since Tritium is significantly less radioactive than Radium, it only has a half-life of approximately 12.5 years.