I just finished a couple of my new Tritium ''gadgets and artifacts'' products. Have a look... Tritium Container Tritium Cross Thank you.
Great work! By the way, where do you buy your tritium vials? I bought some tiny red ones from a guy in the Netherlands, but they are too dim to use. They only show a slight reddish orange light when in absolute darkness.
I buy them directly from the company Betalight. It only makes sense if you buy several pieces due to associated costs (shipping/handling). You can also order from e-bay, I bought my first pieces there. The red vials are the weakest (dark blue also) and should only be used if there is a very specific reason for using red.
Ah ha! Thanks for that graphic! That explains it perfectly why I'm barely able to see the light from the red ones I have! I'll get some more in one of the brighter colors. Thanks also for letting me know where to get these. I just wrote to http://www.betalight.com to get their ordering information.
Wow these are gorgeous! I browsed the website of Betalight but couldn't find prices - could you give me an indication? Bart
Hi Bart, I tried to get the prices, but they apparently don't sell them to the US for the purpose that I wanted to use them for due to NRC regulations. Here's my email: Hello, I am designing a sterling silver jewelry line that will incorporate Betalights in various ways. I'd like to receive ordering information about your raw light sources as shown here, http://www.betalight.com/index_product.htm. A price list with minimum order details would be great. Thanks! All the best, James And their response: James, Tritium light sources are highly regulated in the US and their use is limited, outside of military or law enforcement, to fixed location use for emergency egress markings. Many countries in Europe allow for the use in many consumer products but unfortunately in the US the only consumer approved, non-emergency applications are for watches and compasses. Regards Ralph Williams Sales Manager SRB Technologies, Inc. Phone: 800-652-0098 FAX: 336-768-7720 He didn't give any further details. Perhaps, being that you are in Holland you'll be able to get them from Betalight and use them without restriction.
Thanks James! What about the safety - are there any health issues relating to the use of tritium? Bart
Not really. It's my understanding that tritium goes through the body in 12 days and it's just beta radiation, which is very weak being that the electrons can be stopped by ordinary printer paper. Our bodies receive more damage from natural background radiation than can be received by tritium in the minute quantities found in tritium vials. It's a dumb NRC regulation! The NRC allows it to be used in watches, but not in things like bracelets, pendants and rings! How the watch manufacturing industry in the US received such special favor beats me. :confused