What would be the result of raising the pressure of tritium

[Giglap]

After seeing some videos of tritium tubes paired with solar cells to make long lasting but very low power batteries I wondered how to increase the power

I'm guessing that for safety, the tritium in readily available tubes is at one atmosphere.

It seems that raising the pressure to say two atmospheres would significantly increase the light output.

3 ATM?  

If true then at some point I expect that the phosphorus would 'max out', but just hypothetically wouldn't raising the pressure (the amount of tritium in the tube) increase the radiation within the tube and hence the brightness of the phosphorus coating?

Although I would be interested in hearing better alternatives, I'm still curious if my premise is correct.

Thanks,

   -Jim

 

[exchemist]

1 hour ago, Giglap said:

After seeing some videos of tritium tubes paired with solar cells to make long lasting but very low power batteries I wondered how to increase the power

I'm guessing that for safety, the tritium in readily available tubes is at one atmosphere.

It seems that raising the pressure to say two atmospheres would significantly increase the light output.

3 ATM?  

If true then at some point I expect that the phosphorus would 'max out', but just hypothetically wouldn't raising the pressure (the amount of tritium in the tube) increase the radiation within the tube and hence the brightness of the phosphorus coating?

Although I would be interested in hearing better alternatives, I'm still curious if my premise is correct.

Thanks,

   -Jim

 

I had to look up what this is about. I assume you mean this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optoelectric_nuclear_battery

But there seem also to be non-luminescent nuclear battery devices that convert the energy of radiation directly to electric current: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betavoltaic_device These would not need to rely on a phosphor coating and a solar cell.

I don't know how the efficiencies would compare.

But since the mass of tritium would be proportional to the pressure in the tube, I'm sure you must be right that tripling the pressure would triple the power output, provided the energy conversion system was not saturated by it.

 

 

[John Cuthber]

53 minutes ago, exchemist said:

. I assume you mean this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optoelectric_nuclear_battery

I assume he means this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium_radioluminescence

Eventually the T pressure would be high enough that the gas would stop most of the beta particles reaching the phosphor.
On the pother hand, by that point it might be acting like this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium_arc_lamp

 

There would also be a point where the energy density would  be so high the glass would melt.
And, if you really worked at it,. you would get nuclear fusion.

 

You could get more power per gram by using something with a shorter half life or a higher emission energy (or both).

[swansont]

17 hours ago, Giglap said:

It seems that raising the pressure to say two atmospheres would significantly increase the light output.

I would think it would approximately double.

Quote

If true then at some point I expect that the phosphorus would 'max out', but just hypothetically wouldn't raising the pressure (the amount of tritium in the tube) increase the radiation within the tube and hence the brightness of the phosphorus coating?

I expect the phosphor would deplete faster as well, so perhaps it’s a matter of matching that with the decay of the tritium. Having one last much longer than the other isn’t an improvement in length-of-life performance, which is often a consideration for batteries.

Just being brighter with the same size is a niche improvement - more current or voltage. But you can get that with multiple batteries.