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Default 06-08-2006, 09:26 AM

Heavy water is a loose term which usually refers to deuterium oxide, D2O or 2H2O. Its physical and chemical properties are somewhat similar to those of light water, H2O. The hydrogen atoms are of the heavy isotope deuterium, in which the nucleus contains a neutron in addition to the proton found in the nucleus of the hydrogen atom. This isotopic substitution alters the bond energy of the hydrogen-oxygen bond in water, altering the physical, chemical, and especially biological properties of the substance to a larger degree than is found in most isotope-substituted chemical compounds. Or something like that.


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