Deuterium Definition and 72 Threads

Deuterium (or hydrogen-2, symbol 2H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen (the other being protium, or hydrogen-1). The nucleus of a deuterium atom, called a deuteron, contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more common protium has no neutrons in the nucleus. Deuterium has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in 6420 of hydrogen. Thus deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% (0.0312% by mass) of all the naturally occurring hydrogen in the oceans, while protium accounts for more than 99.98%. The abundance of deuterium changes slightly from one kind of natural water to another (see Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water).
The name deuterium is derived from the Greek deuteros, meaning "second", to denote the two particles composing the nucleus. 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 won the Nobel Prize in 1934 "for his discovery of heavy hydrogen". Soon after deuterium's discovery, Urey and others produced samples of "heavy water" in which the deuterium content had been highly concentrated.
Deuterium is destroyed in the interiors of the stars faster than it is produced. Other natural processes are thought to produce only an insignificant amount of deuterium. Nearly all deuterium found in nature was produced in the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, as the basic or primordial ratio of hydrogen-1 to deuterium (about 26 atoms of deuterium per million hydrogen atoms) has its origin from that time. This is the ratio found in the gas giant planets, such as Jupiter. The analysis of deuterium–protium ratios in comets found results very similar to the mean ratio in Earth's oceans (156 atoms of deuterium per million hydrogen atoms). This reinforces theories that much of Earth's ocean water is of cometary origin. The deuterium–protium ratio of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as measured by the Rosetta space probe, is about three times that of Earth water. This figure is the highest yet measured in a comet.Deuterium–protium ratios thus continue to be an active topic of research in both astronomy and climatology.

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  1. V

    Calculating Potential Energy of Deuterium

    Is it possible to caculate the electric potential energy and the gravitational potential energy between two nucleon of deuterium (1 proton, 1 neutron), if we know the binding energy of deuterium is 2.23 (MeV), and the distance between them is 1 (fm)? Please help me! I'm really confused about...
  2. B

    Deuterium bombarded with Neutrons from tritium?

    If we bombard a gas or plasma of Deuterium with Neutrons will they "stick" and from Tritium?
  3. M

    Energy production from deuterium plasma?

    First off, I would like to apologize for my ignorance. I am a college freshman, computer science, so I'm not as educated as I would like in the areas of physics that interest me most. On to my question, though. I'm wondering if someone could provide an equation describing the energy released...
  4. C

    Exploring Deuterium Engines: Seeking Help

    Hello all, I am an amateur science fiction writer and am currently working on a novel. I am exploring the possibility of deuterium engines and am having a bit of a difficult time understanding some of the research that I have been coming across, as I do not have a very large science background...
  5. C

    Are Deuterium Engines the Future of Space Travel?

    Hello all, I am an amateur science fiction writer and am currently working on a novel. I am exploring the possibility of deuterium engines and am having a bit of a difficult time understanding some of the research that I have been coming across, as I do not have a very large science...
  6. D

    What is the Q-value of the Deuterium (d,p) Reaction?

    Homework Statement Express the energy (Or heat of the reaction Q) of the reaction (d,p) as a function of the binding energy of deuterium and the binding energy of the neutron captured by the target. Homework Equations Bn / A ≈ 8 MeV Bn = Binding energy, A = Atomic Number Q =...
  7. J

    Atomic Physics - rest mass of Deuterium

    Homework Statement Calculate the rest mass of Deuterium nucleus. Homework Equations Is it correct to calculate its mass using hydrogen? i.e. 2*rest mass of hydrogen?.. The Attempt at a Solution As stated in textbook, the rest mass of deuterium = 3.34330*10^-27 kg If it is...
  8. O

    Understanding Fusion Power: Deuterium & Tritium in Magnetic Confinement

    I have been researching about fusion power to understand how it operates during thermonuclear reactions. I do not understand how and how much deuterium and tritium are placed into the magnetic confinement (tokomak). I appreciate it, if anyone guides me about this. Thank you
  9. S

    Ultra-Dense Deuterium: Is it Useful for Spacecraft?

    Has anybody ever heard of this stuff? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511181356.htm Okay, so that means it has at least been produced, so it exists. But is it stable once the confinement pressure has been removed, or is it just a fleeting substance? For it to be feasible...
  10. Q

    Deuterium fusion into Helium-4

    Hi All Just wondering why does deuterium fused with itself not make helium-4 - instead it makes a triton or a helion and a proton or a neutron. These products could then fuse with deuterium to make helium-4. What stops deuterium from fusing straight into alpha particles? Is the kinetic...
  11. wolram

    Bounce Theories & Deuterium: Exploring Elements

    Do bounce theories take account of existing elements, or are these elements re arranged when a bounce happens.
  12. T

    Magnetic Fields, Deuterium and curved tracks

    [SOLVED] Magnetic Fields, Deuterium and curved tracks Homework Statement A deuteron (the nucleus of an isotope of hydrogen) has a mass of m_D and a charge of e. The deuteron travels in a circular path with a radius of r in a magnetic field with a magnitude of B. Find the time required...
  13. P

    How does deuterium interacts with neutrons?

    How does deuterium interacts with neutrons? I sow in nuclear power plants is used heavy water, and it says because the heavy water interacts with neutrons? Is it mechanically stopping them, or there is some other kind of interaction? btw- how neutrons in deuterium stick together, how they are...
  14. A

    Hyperfine splitting of deuterium

    [SOLVED] Hyperfine splitting of deuterium Homework Statement Calculate the wavelength of the photon emitted under a hyperfine transition in the ground state (n=1) of deuterium. Deuterium is a proton and a neutron in the nucleus, but still one electron. The spin of deuterium is 1.Homework...
  15. C

    Fusing Deuterium: The Mystery of Ejected Protons/Neutrons

    In fusor you react one deuterium with another one. So you should get 4He2. Why does it ejects one proton or neutron from nucleus?
  16. S

    Fusion possible with high voltage on deuterium?

    You hear from me first. I claim, “We can apply very high voltage on deuterium to achieve fusion power generation.” Using a device like a van De Graaff or Tesla Coils machine, we can generate very high voltage with minimum power input on a deuterium gas mixture which surrounds a pullet. The...
  17. T

    The Deuterium Nucleus Spin Question

    Ok, I have a question that's really irritating me. I am trying to explain why deuterium's nucleus has a spin of 1. By the addition of angular mometum of the individual nucleons (1 proton and 1 neutron) that make up the deuterium nucleus, there are three possible choices (from the triangle...
  18. J

    Deuterium as opposed to di-proton

    Hello, I was having a difficult time understanding some instances of nucleosynthesis. Two hydrogens (each with just 1 proton) come together to form deuterium (1 proton and 1 neutron)... but why does this happen as opposed to forming a di-proton (2 protons). I've been told that it has...
  19. M

    Calculating Deuterium Atoms in 4 kg Ocean Water and Energy Needs of US

    this is homework problem I'm having some trouble with... i haven't had chemistry yet so I'm not sure how i could convert atoms into kg, and the textbook i have doesn't do any examples of problems like this one... i don't even know where to begin. Deuterium (A=2, Z=1) is an attractive fuel for...
  20. A

    Abundance of deuterium vs tritium

    In a nuclear fusion reactor for generating electricity, would a deuterium-deuterium reaction be inferior to a deuterium-tritium reaction? If the latter is a superior mode of fusion, then obviously that would be more preferable. But how abundant is tritium as an isotope, compared to deuterium, in...
  21. DrChinese

    Coaxing a Neutron from Deuterium

    Question: What would it take to coax a deuterium atom to give up its neutron? In terms of input energy? Would you need to hit it with an energetic electron to have a reasonable chance of disassociation? Thanks!
  22. T

    Where can you use protium, tritium and deuterium?

    um um um... Where can you use protium, tritium and deuterium?
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