Topics
ABOUT

Video: Why Canadian trash costs $30,000 per gram

by American Chemical Society
~2 minutes
Credit: The American Chemical Society

How do you turn nuclear waste into a $30,000-per-gram commodity? Tritium, once discarded as a by-product of Canadian nuclear reactors, is now one of the most expensive materials on Earth. This rare isotope of hydrogen powers glow-in-the-dark keychains, exit signs that can stay bright for two decades without power and cutting-edge fusion energy research.

Join our host, George, as he explores how tritium is produced and used, and why its use as a fusion fuel is completely different from its use in exit signs. As the demand for clean, limitless power grows, companies are racing to secure their piece of the pie, making this once-discarded a hot commodity.

Credit: American Chemical Society

Citation : Video: Why Canadian trash costs $30,000 per gram (2024, September 16) retrieved 16 September 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-09-video-canadian-trash-gram.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.