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Comparison
Deuterium vs Tritium
Deuterium is stable, abundant, and from seawater; tritium is radioactive, scarce, and must be bred. Kronos runs mostly deuterium with only a minimal tritium role.
- Deuterium
- Stable; abundant (seawater); safe
- Tritium
- Radioactive; scarce; must be bred
- Kronos use
- Deuterium primary; tritium minimal
- Half-life
- Tritium ~12.3 yr → decays to ³He
Deuterium and tritium are both heavy isotopes of hydrogen, but they could hardly be more different as fuels.
| Property | Deuterium / Tritium |
|---|---|
| Stability | Stable / radioactive (~12.3 yr half-life) |
| Abundance | Abundant — from seawater / scarce — must be bred |
| Handling | Completely safe / regulated, contained |
| Kronos role | Primary fuel / minimal (commissioning + ³He precursor) |
Conventional D–T fusion depends heavily on tritium and must breed kilograms of it in a lithium blanket. Kronos runs D–³He with only a small, staged tritium role, keeping its tritium inventory low — a real safety and licensing advantage. See deuterium and tritium.