HEAVY WATER Definition & Meaning

heavy water

noun

water in which hydrogen atoms have been replaced by deuterium, used chiefly as a coolant in nuclear reactors.

heavy water

noun

water that has been electrolytically decomposed to enrich it in the deuterium isotope in the form HDO or D 2 O

heavy water

Water in which deuterium, a heavy isotope of hydrogen, takes the place of hydrogen. Heavy water has physical and chemical properties that are like those of ordinary water, but heavy water is 10 percent heavier and has higher freezing and boiling points. Also called deuterium oxide. Chemical formula: D 2 O.
◆ Semiheavy water is similar to heavy water, but only one of the two hydrogen atoms in each molecule is replaced with deuterium. Chemical formula: DHO.

heavy water

Water with a higher average molecular weight than ordinary water. In a molecule of heavy water, the hydrogen atoms are isotopes in which the nuclei each contain a proton and a neutron , and hence are twice as heavy as a normal hydrogen atom.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of heavy water¹

First recorded in 1930–35

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A Closer Look

The nucleus of most hydrogen atoms consists of a single proton, but in one isotope of hydrogen, called deuterium or heavy hydrogen, the nucleus also contains a neutron and thus weighs nearly twice as much as standard hydrogen. The substance called heavy water is chemically identical to ordinary water (H 2 O), except that the hydrogen atoms in the molecule are the deuterium isotopes (D 2 O). Heavy water makes up a small percentage (0.02%) of water naturally occurring on Earth. It is an excellent moderator for nuclear reactions, slowing down the fast neutrons produced in a nuclear fission reaction, increasing the likelihood that the neutrons will successfully collide with heavy nuclei to cause further fission. Although heavy water is chemically nearly identical with ordinary water, it is about ten percent heavier and interferes with cell mitosis if consumed in place of normal water. Ice cubes made of heavy water are denser than ordinary liquid water and will sink to the bottom of a glass of cola.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

As the fire rapidly spread amid extremely high winds, the pressure plummeted in high-elevation areas because of heavy water usage, leaving firefighters to contend with hydrants that had gone dry.

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Near a destroyed boat and melted furniture hung three heavy water hoses that could have been used by firefighters.

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He could feel the heavy water hurrying past him, tugging at his clothes.

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Shi and her team, including Li, pioneered the new approach, which uses a specially modified version of water, called heavy water, as a metabolic probe.

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He attributed court rulings and criticisms to “disinformation,” and cast blame on state-run copper mines, also heavy water users.

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