Deuterium

Deuterium is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in 6420 of hydrogen. Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% (or on a mass basis 0.0312%) of all the naturally occurring hydrogen in the oceans, while the most common isotope (hydrogen-1 or protium) accounts for more than 99.98%. The nucleus of deuterium, called a deuteron, contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more common protium has no neutron in the nucleus. Deuterium has a mass number of 2 and is symbolized by the chemical symbol D.

History

Deuterium was discovered and named in 1931 by Harold Urey. When the neutron was discovered in 1932, this made the nuclear structure of deuterium obvious, and Urey was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934 "for his discovery of heavy hydrogen".

Properties

Deuterium differs from the lightest and most common hydrogen isotope, protium, in that each atom of deuterium contains a neutron and a proton. The presence of the neutron makes a deuterium atom roughly twice as heavy as a protium atom.

Uses

Deuterium is used in a variety of applications, from the production of heavy water for nuclear reactors to the study of biological and chemical reactions.

See also

• Heavy water
• Hydrogen
• Isotope
• Neutron
• Proton

References

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