What is Deuterium?
Deuterium is one of the two stable isotopes of hydrogen.The nucleus of most hydrogen atoms in nature contains a proton (chemical symbol: 1H), but the nucleus of some hydrogen atoms may also contain a proton and a neutron or a proton and two neutrons. In the first case, it is called deuterium (chemical symbol: 2H or D), and in the second – tritium (chemical symbol: 3H or T).
Abundance of deuterium in wateron Earth is about one deuterium atom at 6,400 hydrogen atoms (156.25 parts per million), or 0.0156%. This deuterium concentration changes very little from one natural water to another.
Deuterium concentrationin the body of an adult is about 120-140 ppm (parts per million). Although it does not seem like much, if we compare this amount with the mass of other vital elements in the blood, it is observed that deuterium is present in an amount of six times higher than calcium and ten times higher than magnesium.
Deuterium content of watersThe deuterium content of surface waters in our climate zone is 150 ppm, with a minimum fluctuation; of rainfall in the equatorial zone of 155 ppm; and of waters in the northern part of Canada, inland, of 135-140 ppm. The amount of deuterium in the water varies …Continue reading
