Water composed of two atoms of deuterium (D; a heavy isotope of hydrogen) and one atom of oxygen (O), chemical formula D2O. Water from most natural sources contains about 0.015percnt deuterium oxide; this can be enriched or purified by distillation, electrolysis, or chemical processing. Heavy water is used as a moderator in nuclear power plants, slowing down the fast neutrons so that they can react with the fuel in the reactor. Heavy water is also used in research as an isotopic tracer for chemical reactions and biochemical pathways. Water with tritium (T2O) rather than deuterium may also be called heavy water.
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Isotope of hydrogen, chemical symbol 2H or D, atomic number 1 (but atomic weight approximately 2). Harold C. Urey won a Nobel Prize for its discovery and isolation. Its nucleus contains one proton and one neutron. A stable substance found in naturally occurring hydrogen compounds to the extent of about 0.015percnt, deuterium can be purified by distillation of hydrogen or by electrolysis of water. It enters into all the same chemical reactions as ordinary hydrogen; it forms D2 and HD, analogous to molecular hydrogen (H2), and D2O (heavy water), analogous to ordinary water (H2O). Nuclear fusion of deuterium atoms or of deuterium and tritium at high temperatures releases enormous amounts of energy. Such reactions have been used in nuclear weapons and experimental power reactors. Deuterium is useful as a tracer in research into reaction mechanisms and biochemical pathways.
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