Tritium Technology in Military Watches Tritium paint has been used on the hands and numerals of watches since the 1930's. At first this technology was Top Secret and restricted to use on military watches post2 by haiyan114.Tritium paint on watches is a mixture of tritium and phospor. Tritium is naturally radio-active and needs no external source of light or charge to work. Tritium does not glow. As it decays, tritium emits beta radiation, which are a group of excited electrons that in turn excite the electron in the phosphor atoms making them emit photons, or light. As they return to their ground (non-excited) state, the phosphor glows Beige Rouge Etoile Isable Marant Wila Baskets Compensées. Phosphor can also be excited by UV light from the sun or other light sources. Thus, the tritium paint relies on tritium radioactivity to make the phosphor glow i ... Read more »