Tritium and Luminova

Tritium & Luminova:

Tritium itself is not the glowing component in the paste used to apply to a watch dial, it is actually the phosphorescent compound in the paint that is mixed with it that starts the glowing reaction going. Tritium atoms in an excited, mildly radioactive state engage the phosphor atoms and thus emit photons for a period of time. If you really want to get into the chemistry of this please follow this link: (if you don't want to go insane, skip it totally)

http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/aesj/publication/JNST2002/No.12/39_1251-1259.pdf

More research into luminova technology led me to Nemoto and Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan one of the leading phosphorescent pigment manufacturers in the world since 1941. They were granted a US patent in 1995.

LumiNova ® is a class of newly developed phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark) pigments which are based on Strontium Oxide Aluminate Chemistry. They are drastically different from conventional phosphorescent pigments which are either based on Zinc Sulfide or on radioisotopes for their self-luminous properties.

LumiNova® Features

· Afterglow period of ten times current ZnS based phosphorescent pigments.

· Activation by a wide wavelength band (200-450 nm) but best results are obtained with an activation energy under 350 nm;

· Initial afterglow brightness of up to ten times that of conventional phosphorescent pigments;

· Increase in luminescence and afterglow with longer activation time;

· Excellent weather and light fastness;

· Free of hazardous and radioactive substances

Omega stopped using tritium at the end of 1997. The reasons for this stemmed from more ecological awareness related to the production, storage and distribution of tritium.

Some web articles if anyone is interested pertaining to Tritium effects:

http://www.ccnr.org/tritium_1.html#UN-H


Omega's technique was called "super-luminova" and produced some great results.
The Omega dials with a “T swiss-made T” of course were tritium-applied and the super-luminova just said swissmade. “ L swissmade L” on the dial, woud denote a luminova material.

While doing some more sleuthing on this subject, I’ve come across this website, thought you might

find it interesting: www.umccorp.com/luminova.htm

Tritium is actually banned in the EEC and other countries because it is radioactive, that is why it is not used anymore. In layman's terms Tritium is a low emission radioactive emmitter and doesn't need an activator (light) to glow. It is claimed to have a half life of 12.5 years.