Not much really. Looks cool though. I suppose it’s more of a decoration than “tech.” About the only practical application of it is a tool to terrify the uneducated. The quantities of tritium the average person can buy are beyond harmless. You could breathe a hundred vials of the stuff and be completely unaffected. If you drank nothing but tritium water for several weeks, you would have some issues. But tiny vials with micrograms of tritium vapor inside? Utterly harmless.
Or, I suppose for the criminally minded, you could find some evil uses for it. You could probably rob a bank with it. “Give me all the money or I break this vial of radioactive vapor!” That would probably get you a wikipedia page, if you’re just dying for your 5 minutes of fame. You could go down in history as, “that mad scientist that robbed a bank using radioactive gas.” Of course it would be a bluff.
Though if you’re just going to bluff your way through bank robbery, you can just stick your hand in a hoodie pocket for the same effect.
I suppose you could use it for other similar criminal acts of varied nobility. You could probably use the same bluff to create a hostage situation to bring awareness to whatever political/religious cause is your cup of tea. Ultimately most people are very ignorant of nuclear science, and simply the words “radioactive tritium” would cause people to shit themselves. And that fear could be harnessed for all sorts of malevolent purposes. (Even better as you can actually show people the faint glow from it, and prove that you do have something radioactive.)
Hmm… what else could you use tritium for? I suppose you could use it for religious purposes. Absolute quantities really don’t matter much for that.
What else? You could tie it to a keychain and be able to find your keys in a dark room.
But really, it’s mostly a novelty. I think small amounts of it can be used for gun sights. But in any quantity the average person could afford or legally be allowed to purchase, it’s a harmless novelty. Larger quantities can be used in fusion reactor experiments and nuclear weapons. But if you try to acquire that much, you better have a budget in the millions, and the NRC is going to be on your ass. The average person can get a small vial of it that faintly glows blue in a dark room. It looks cool embedded in jewelry, but it really doesn’t have much practical purposes beyond perhaps terrifying the ignorant. But I really don’t consider malevolent uses to be truly practical applications.
(In case it isn’t obvious, I do not endorse using radioactive tritium in the commission of any crime or act of violence or threat of violence.)
Lmao I love that this became a thought exercise on the nefarious uses of tritium. Thanks for the info! I’ll keep all of these in mind when trying to determine what to do with my newly acquired tritium. >=)
I have a little tritium vial on my keys because I am a clumsy oaf with ADHD and the little greeny glow has been useful a couple of times. It’s great when I’m out at night and my keys yeet themselves out of my pocket and land in the darkest possible area.
I mostly got it because it’s cool though. Radioluminescence is fukken rad!
Based off of your comment history, it seeeeems like you live in the US, although I could deffo be wrong. That’s where I live, so I may have good news. It’s illegal to sell tritium products in the US, but it’s not illegal to buy it as an individual. There’s a Taiwanese company that sells all kinds of cool little tritium widgets: https://www.mixglo.com/
that’s where I got my vial from. It wasn’t cheap for what it is, but I think it’s cool.
edit: looks like they also ship to Canada if you live there. I’ve no idea what the laws are up there, but I’m assuming it’s legal if they’re willing to ship.
There was a TV show. Stephen Fry 100 greatest gadgets.
For 1 he told a story about how some guy was talking to a largely uncontacted tribe and they were really interested in their tech.
So he knew they would have a supply drop and took them out to see the plane for the first time ever. The tribe was remarkable unimpressed with the sight.
The guy asked what was up and they came back with the reply “You can make fire from your fingertips. Of course you can fly”
I suppose it really depends on your perspective. If you’re that uncontacted tribe, you see birds all the time. The idea of a creature being able to fly is pretty mundane. Humans can’t naturally fly like birds, but neither can they naturally wield knives as long and sharp as tiger claws. But flying is ultimately just duplicating something already found in nature.
But the ability to instantly and effortlessly summon fire? The closest thing in nature is the bombardier beetle, and that shoots boiling acid. Impressive, but it’s not true fire. There are no creatures in nature that can just summon fire on command. From a natural perspective, instantly creating fire is a lot more impressive than a flying machine.
A bow drill fire starter.
…I suppose it depends on what you assume the future will be like…
Barring that, you can get some small vials of tritium gas for under that price.
What would one do with small vials of tritium gas?
Not much really. Looks cool though. I suppose it’s more of a decoration than “tech.” About the only practical application of it is a tool to terrify the uneducated. The quantities of tritium the average person can buy are beyond harmless. You could breathe a hundred vials of the stuff and be completely unaffected. If you drank nothing but tritium water for several weeks, you would have some issues. But tiny vials with micrograms of tritium vapor inside? Utterly harmless.
Or, I suppose for the criminally minded, you could find some evil uses for it. You could probably rob a bank with it. “Give me all the money or I break this vial of radioactive vapor!” That would probably get you a wikipedia page, if you’re just dying for your 5 minutes of fame. You could go down in history as, “that mad scientist that robbed a bank using radioactive gas.” Of course it would be a bluff.
Though if you’re just going to bluff your way through bank robbery, you can just stick your hand in a hoodie pocket for the same effect.
I suppose you could use it for other similar criminal acts of varied nobility. You could probably use the same bluff to create a hostage situation to bring awareness to whatever political/religious cause is your cup of tea. Ultimately most people are very ignorant of nuclear science, and simply the words “radioactive tritium” would cause people to shit themselves. And that fear could be harnessed for all sorts of malevolent purposes. (Even better as you can actually show people the faint glow from it, and prove that you do have something radioactive.)
Hmm… what else could you use tritium for? I suppose you could use it for religious purposes. Absolute quantities really don’t matter much for that.
What else? You could tie it to a keychain and be able to find your keys in a dark room.
But really, it’s mostly a novelty. I think small amounts of it can be used for gun sights. But in any quantity the average person could afford or legally be allowed to purchase, it’s a harmless novelty. Larger quantities can be used in fusion reactor experiments and nuclear weapons. But if you try to acquire that much, you better have a budget in the millions, and the NRC is going to be on your ass. The average person can get a small vial of it that faintly glows blue in a dark room. It looks cool embedded in jewelry, but it really doesn’t have much practical purposes beyond perhaps terrifying the ignorant. But I really don’t consider malevolent uses to be truly practical applications.
(In case it isn’t obvious, I do not endorse using radioactive tritium in the commission of any crime or act of violence or threat of violence.)
Lmao I love that this became a thought exercise on the nefarious uses of tritium. Thanks for the info! I’ll keep all of these in mind when trying to determine what to do with my newly acquired tritium. >=)
^^^ Umm, FBI, if you’re reading, it was all their idea! ^^^^
°_°
I have a little tritium vial on my keys because I am a clumsy oaf with ADHD and the little greeny glow has been useful a couple of times. It’s great when I’m out at night and my keys yeet themselves out of my pocket and land in the darkest possible area.
I mostly got it because it’s cool though. Radioluminescence is fukken rad!
I’ve wanted one of these for decades but I thought they weren’t legal to purchase in my country anymore. I’m living vicariously through you.
Based off of your comment history, it seeeeems like you live in the US, although I could deffo be wrong. That’s where I live, so I may have good news. It’s illegal to sell tritium products in the US, but it’s not illegal to buy it as an individual. There’s a Taiwanese company that sells all kinds of cool little tritium widgets: https://www.mixglo.com/
that’s where I got my vial from. It wasn’t cheap for what it is, but I think it’s cool.
edit: looks like they also ship to Canada if you live there. I’ve no idea what the laws are up there, but I’m assuming it’s legal if they’re willing to ship.
How many vials of tritium do I need until my bluff in the bank lobby is no longer an empty threat?
Umm, contact (202) 324-3000 and ask them. They’ll know for sure.
There was a TV show. Stephen Fry 100 greatest gadgets.
For 1 he told a story about how some guy was talking to a largely uncontacted tribe and they were really interested in their tech.
So he knew they would have a supply drop and took them out to see the plane for the first time ever. The tribe was remarkable unimpressed with the sight.
The guy asked what was up and they came back with the reply “You can make fire from your fingertips. Of course you can fly”
He named the lighter the number 1 gadget.
I suppose it really depends on your perspective. If you’re that uncontacted tribe, you see birds all the time. The idea of a creature being able to fly is pretty mundane. Humans can’t naturally fly like birds, but neither can they naturally wield knives as long and sharp as tiger claws. But flying is ultimately just duplicating something already found in nature.
But the ability to instantly and effortlessly summon fire? The closest thing in nature is the bombardier beetle, and that shoots boiling acid. Impressive, but it’s not true fire. There are no creatures in nature that can just summon fire on command. From a natural perspective, instantly creating fire is a lot more impressive than a flying machine.