About us:
We are a specialist military watch dealer who supplies directly to HM Forces and the Security Services. We are also happy to supply to individual customers who are looking for a military watch to use or collect.
Resources
Opening Hours
Office Tue - Fri 10am - 4pm
Dispatch Mon - Sat 8am - 5pm.
Contact us
Military and Security Service customers please contact us via phone and use the 4 digit PIN issued with your order or contract to reach the support team. Civillian or individual customers please use the contact form to reach us via email
Priority to Military Customers
Please note that due to the current deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan we always give priority to BFPO orders to these two areas of operation.
About Tritium
Tritium Gas
Tritium (Hydrogen-3) is an isotope of hydrogen gas. It can be man-made, but it is also a naturally occurring substance that is produced by cosmic ray action and by the decay of natural radionuclides in rocks and soil. It is a colorless, odorless gas, lighter than air. It is present in air and water all over the earth and is regularly ingested and breathed by everyone. All humans contain trace amounts of tritium and several other naturally occurring radioisotopes.
Many isotopes are stable and retain their structure indefinitely. However, some isotopes, including tritium, are not stable and are said to be radioactive. As the tritium nucleus decays it emits an electron, causing energy to be released in the form of beta radiation. A new nucleus is then formed with two protons and one neutron thereby becoming a form of non-radioactive helium.
Tritium beta emissions are very weak. No other primary radiation is emitted. In fact, tritium emits the lowest level of beta radiation energy of all isotopes. The beta particles are easily stopped by thin layers of any solid material and are unable to penetrate our body’s skin.
Mb-Microtec manufactures military watches according to US MIL-W-46374F, containing TRASER® for their illumination. TRASER® is a self-activated cold light source, requiring neither power supply nor wiring, formed from borosilicate glass, internally coated with one of a range of phosphors and filled with Tritium gas. TRASER® products are intrinsically safe, and are unaffected by water, oil and most corrosive materials. Additionally, TRASER are Filament free, they are highly resistant to shock and vibration, Have long in-service life, generally in excess of 10 years, Maintenance free and intrinsically safe
Facts about Tritium Gas
There are three isotopes of hydrogen
- A protium nucleus has one proton and no neutrons
- A deuterium nucleus has one proton and one neutron
- A tritium nucleus has one proton and two neutrons
Tritium decays to 3He + beta + neutrino
Half-Life:
- (DOE 5630.9) = 12.323 ± 0.004 years = 4500.88 ± 1.46 days
- (Mound) = 12.3232 ± 0.0043 years = 4500.96 ± 1.57 days
- 1 year = 365.2425 days
- Q(T2 at t) = Q(T2 at start) e{[t(years) x ln 0.5]/12.323}
- Tritium Decay Factor = 0.99984601/day
Energy of decay, dissociation, ionization
- (E max.) = 18.6 keV
- (E mean) = 5.69 keV
- Dissociation energy, T2 to 2T = 4.59 eV
- Ionization energy, T to T+ + e- = 13.55 eV
- Energy to break T bond = 3.858 eV/molecule
Miscellaneous
- 1 Ci T2 gas at STP = 0.386 ml
- 1 gram T2 gas at STP = 9619 Ci
- 1 gram T2 gas at STP = 3.71579 liter
- 1 ml T2 gas at STP = 2.589 Ci
- 1 ml T2O (tritiated water) = 3,200 Ci
- 1 liter T2 gas at STP = 2,589 Ci
- 1 liter T2 gas at STP = 0.269122 gram
- 1 ppm of T2 gas = 2.589 Ci/m3
- Atomic Weight = 3.01605
- Molecular Weight = 6.0321
Boiling points
- H2 20.39 K
- HD 22.14 K
- HT 22.92 K
- D2 23.66 K
- DT 24.38 K
- T2 25.04 K