Interesting info on Night Sights

[truxrme]

Taken from Faq section on site:

Q: What is Tritium? What is “Half Life”? Why do you have only the green color?

A: Welcome to XS Sight Systems Science 101.

Tritium is a trace element naturally present in the air your breath. Tritium is Hydrogen. Hydrogen plus two extra neutrons. Hydrogen as most people know it has 1 Hydrogen isotope, 1 proton, and no neutrons. By adding 2 neutrons to basic Hydrogen you create Hydrogen3 or Tritium. The molecular structure is unstable and decays. In this decay process it throws off Beta Particles. When these Beta Particles collide with the phosphor coating on the inside of the glass tube the phosphor glows.

The term “half-life” refers to this decay process and how long the tritium vial will glow. The half-life time is how long it takes for the tritium to be half as bright as it was when new. After that point the speed of decay increases the vial brightness dies.

The color of the Tritium vial depends on the material used to coat the inside of the tube. Green Tritium vials are the brightest of all the Tritium colors. Even so they are rather weak light sources. Surprisingly small amounts of ambient light will overpower the Tritium creating a usage gap at the half to low light point of light levels. That is one of the reasons we have such a large white dot. The dot reflects any ambient present so you have full sighting ability under any light conditions.

We chose a bar and a dot because having three green Tritium fireflies out in front of you can slow your response while you decide which of them is the front sight.

Some companies try to solve this dilemma by using a different color Tritium for the front and rear sight. While this helps some, it creates addition difficulties since all the other Tritium colors are less bright than the green.

We retain the brightest Tritium color and by utilizing a vertical bar for the rear, the front sight is readily discernable from the rear so there is no loss of time in indexing the sights on the target.

[MIch_Packer]

I wonder how much a beta particle weighs?

If there is only one proton and two nuetrons, where do the beta particles come from in the first place?

Joking aside, this is interesting. I wonder if the beta particle emmision is what's considered radioactive?

[Gregw/aGlock]

Originally posted by MIch_Packer
I wonder how much a beta particle weighs?

If there is only one proton and two nuetrons, where do the beta particles come from in the first place?

Joking aside, this is interesting. I wonder if the beta particle emmision is what's considered radioactive?

Well, wonder no more! A beta particle is essentially an electron that is ejected from the nucleus of an atom. THerefore, a beta particle weighs the same as an electron: 9.11x10-31 kg. I'll leave the conversion from kg to oz or lbs to you.

Where does the beta come from? Well, essentially, a nuetron in the nucleus changes into a proton and an electron. The electron is emitted -- and called a beta particle -- and the proton stays there. The number of protons in a nucleus is what determines what element the atom is. 1 proton = hydrogen. After the neutron is converted, there are now two protons. 2 protons = helium. So, the hydrogen changes into helium!

The beta emission is not what is considered "radioactive". The material that emits it is described as "radioactive" since it gives off "radiation" (i.e. the beta in this case) in the form of a particle (alpha, beta, or nuetron) or wave (gamma or x-ray).

[Butch]

What site did this info come from?


Click--> Gunny at Knob Creek! (http://glocktalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=476121)


;?

[truxrme]

Originally posted by Butch
What site did this info come from?


Click--> Gunny at Knob Creek! (http://glocktalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=476121)


;?

www.xssights.com

[Timmah!]

This should have been posted here:
Sights, Optics and Lasers
"If it points where you shoot, this is the place to talk about it."

Can we all please try to put stuff where it belongs? It makes it harder to try to find posts of interest when they are posted in the wrong forum.

Tim

[Dandapani]

And how is this specific to GLOCK?

[Mnukedude]

Originally posted by Gregw/aGlock
Well, wonder no more! A beta particle is essentially an electron that is ejected from the nucleus of an atom. THerefore, a beta particle weighs the same as an electron: 9.11x10-31 kg. I'll leave the conversion from kg to oz or lbs to you.

Where does the beta come from? Well, essentially, a nuetron in the nucleus changes into a proton and an electron. The electron is emitted -- and called a beta particle -- and the proton stays there. The number of protons in a nucleus is what determines what element the atom is. 1 proton = hydrogen. After the neutron is converted, there are now two protons. 2 protons = helium. So, the hydrogen changes into helium!

The beta emission is not what is considered "radioactive". The material that emits it is described as "radioactive" since it gives off "radiation" (i.e. the beta in this case) in the form of a particle (alpha, beta, or nuetron) or wave (gamma or x-ray).

So tritium decays into ordinary helium?

[marcoh]

Originally posted by truxrme
The term “half-life” refers to this decay process and how long the tritium vial will glow. The half-life time is how long it takes for the tritium to be half as bright as it was when new. After that point the speed of decay increases the vial brightness dies.

More strictly speaking, "halflife" is a constant that represents the time it takes for one half of the atoms in a radioactive isotope to decay. Thus, after 12 years, half of the tritium in a set of night sights will have decayed. In the next 12 years, half of the remaining radioactive material, that is an amount equal to 1/4 of the original sample, will decay. In the 12 years following that, an amount equal to 1/8 of the original sample will decay, and so on. The rate of nuclear decay never changes for a given isotope.

I don't know if there's some other process also at work in a set of night sights (for example, something to do with the phospher that causes the radioactive material to fluoresce), but everything else being equal, I'd expect the apparent rate at which the sights dimmed to appear to slow down rather than speed up because during each half-life cycle only half the amount of radioactive material will be lost vs. the previous cycle.

[Hickeroar]

supposedly beta particles (the weakest form of radiation) cannot penetrate skin or even a piece of paper. They really don't pose a threat to humans at all. Really the only way to get tritium inside you is to breathe it in since it's a gas and then your body just removes it as waste and you pee it out. It's really not harmful... Maybe if you happen to breathe it in for about 10 years solid....but who's going to walk around with a Oxygen tank full of tritum instead. :-P

[Patterson]

Does anyone know how the TruGlo TFO sites incorporate fiber optics & how this relates to the Tritium?

[gary newport]

Originally posted by Patterson
Does anyone know how the TruGlo TFO sites incorporate fiber optics & how this relates to the Tritium?

Fiber-optic "light pipe" on the shooter side, tritium tube on the far side. When the ambient light is bright, that is what dominates the output of the fiber-optics; when ambient light is dim, the glow from the tritium tubes is transmitted through the fiber-optics (the tritium tubes always emit light but this is washed out when ambient light is bright).

[Mnukedude]

Originally posted by Hickeroar
supposedly beta particles (the weakest form of radiation) cannot penetrate skin or even a piece of paper. They really don't pose a threat to humans at all. Really the only way to get tritium inside you is to breathe it in since it's a gas and then your body just removes it as waste and you pee it out. It's really not harmful... Maybe if you happen to breathe it in for about 10 years solid....but who's going to walk around with a Oxygen tank full of tritum instead. :-P

Tritium's biological half life is about ten days, IIRC

[Kimme_und_Korn]

This is why I couldn't be a physicist....

If the beta particle is emitted--then it's lost--once this happens, shouldn't the element (tritium, in this case) move to it's more stable, non-radioactive state? Then it wouldn't be radioactive and it would stop glowing....

Seems confusing....

I'm not sure what this directly has to do with Glocks, but I always enjoy learning something new--even if I don't fully understand it.

Not to hijack things--am off tho get a G17 and Advantage Arms conversion for it tomorrow! It has tritium sights!!! Happy Christmas to me....Happy Christmas to me......;f

[MIch_Packer]

Originally posted by Kimme_und_Korn
I'm not sure what this directly has to do with Glocks, but I always enjoy learning something new--even if I don't fully understand it.


Is this really all that different than a conversation about tennifer and its properties or any other accessory?

[Kimme_und_Korn]

See the "And how is this specific to Glock?" comment asked above....

From my perspective, it is related to Glock. Just like tennifer, etc.

I just wished I understood the physics so I could participate better....;g

[Ersatz0906]

when you buy night sight online how do you know if its a new sight? it will be very disappointing if you found out after 5 years that its been manufactured 7 years before you bought it.

[MIch_Packer]

I have Trijicon NS on a couple of my Glocks. The date (month year) is right on the sight. If you receive 5 year old sights send them back for something newer. I don't know if other manufacturers put a born on date on their sights.

I bought mine from Glockparts.com and they were a couple of months old.

[Radiator]

Originally posted by marcoh
More strictly speaking, "halflife" is a constant that represents the time it takes for one half of the atoms in a radioactive isotope to decay. (snip)

Half life: Friday night in Bakersfield.;f

Bill

[Gregw/aGlock]

Originally posted by Hickeroar
supposedly beta particles (the weakest form of radiation) cannot penetrate skin or even a piece of paper. They really don't pose a threat to humans at all. Really the only way to get tritium inside you is to breathe it in since it's a gas and then your body just removes it as waste and you pee it out. It's really not harmful... Maybe if you happen to breathe it in for about 10 years solid....but who's going to walk around with a Oxygen tank full of tritum instead. :-P


You're right in that tritium beta are completely harmless unless you breathe them in...however, you've got alpha particles mixed up with beta particles. It is alphas that are considered to be the weakest form of ionizing radiation (not radiation in general - that would likely be sound waves). Alphas cannot penetrate paper or the dead layer of skin covering your body. Betas can penetrate paper easily and several millimeters of skin too -- if they're energetic enough. Tritium betas are not energetic enough (they're maximum is 18 keV with an average of 5 keV).


P.S. Mnukedude: yes, tritum decays into ordinary helium. Also, if you want to reduce the biological half time of tritium in a specific person, have them drink a six-pack. It's major elimination route is via urine.

[Mnukedude]

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one, but does it make any difference what the six pack is? Pepsi, especially caffeinated, would do as well as beer, wouldn't it? Or even Kool aid, for that matter.