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Heavy water (deuterium oxide, 2 H 2 O, D 2 O) is a form of water in which hydrogen atoms are all deuterium (2 H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) rather than the common hydrogen-1 isotope (1 H, also called protium) that makes up most of the hydrogen in normal water. [3]
In theory, deuterium for heavy water could be created in a nuclear reactor, but separation from ordinary water is the cheapest bulk production process. The world's leading supplier of deuterium was Atomic Energy of Canada Limited until 1997, when the last heavy water plant was shut down.
Water enriched in 2 H is called heavy water. Deuterium and its compounds are used as a non-radioactive label in chemical experiments and in solvents for 1 H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Heavy water is used as a neutron moderator and coolant for nuclear reactors. Deuterium is also a potential fuel for commercial nuclear fusion.
The Norwegian heavy water sabotage (Bokmål: Tungtvannsaksjonen; Nynorsk: Tungtvassaksjonen) was a series of Allied-led efforts to halt German heavy water (deuterium) production via hydroelectric plants in Nazi Germany-occupied Norway during World War II, involving both Norwegian commandos and Allied bombing raids.
Semiheavy water is the result of replacing one of the protium in normal water with deuterium. [1] It exists whenever there is water with light hydrogen (protium, 1 H) and deuterium (D or 2 H) in the mix. This is because hydrogen atoms (1 H and 2 H) are rapidly exchanged between water molecules.
Deuterium thus has about twice the atomic mass as 1 H. Heavy water consists of water molecules with two deuterium atoms instead of the two 1 H atoms. The hydrogen in normal water is about 99.97% 1 H (by weight). [2] The production of heavy water involves isolating and removing deuterium-containing isotopologues within natural water.
The one benefit of using only deuterium is that unlike many other fusion candidates (especially tritium), Earth’s oceans and atmosphere contain a lot of the isotope, also known as heavy water ...
A pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear reactor that uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D 2 O) as its coolant and neutron moderator. [1] PHWRs frequently use natural uranium as fuel, but sometimes also use very low enriched uranium.