deuterium

[ doo-teer-ee-uh m, dyoo- ]
/ duˈtɪər i əm, dyu- /

noun Chemistry.

an isotope of hydrogen, having twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen; heavy hydrogen. Symbol: D; atomic weight: 2.01; atomic number: 1.

Origin of deuterium

1933; < Greek deúter(os) second (see deutero-) + -ium

Words nearby deuterium

deuter-, deuteragonist, deuteranopia, deuterate, deuteride, deuterium, deuterium oxide, deutero-, deuterocanonical, deuterocanonical books, deuterogamy

Example sentences from the Web for deuterium

British Dictionary definitions for deuterium

deuterium
/ (djuːˈtɪərɪəm) /

noun

a stable isotope of hydrogen, occurring in natural hydrogen (156 parts per million) and in heavy water: used as a tracer in chemistry and biology. Symbol: D or ²H; atomic no: 1; atomic wt: 2.014; boiling pt: –249.7°C

Word Origin for deuterium

C20: New Latin; see deutero-, -ium; from the fact that it is the second heaviest hydrogen isotope

Medical definitions for deuterium

deuterium
[ dōō-tîr′ē-əm ]

n.

An isotope of hydrogen with one proton and one neutron in the nucleus having an atomic weight of 2.014. heavy hydrogen hydrogen-2

Scientific definitions for deuterium

deuterium
[ dōō-tîr′ē-əm ]

An isotope of hydrogen whose nucleus has one proton and one neutron and whose atomic mass is 2. Deuterium is used widely as a tracer for analyzing chemical reactions, and it combines with oxygen to form heavy water. Also called heavy hydrogen See Note at heavy water.