Heavy Water

• Merck Life Science will soon supply of Heavy Water for production of Deuterium Labelled Compounds to Atomic Energy Commission.
• It has entered into a five-year partnership with the Department of Atomic Energy for the constant supply of heavy water.

ABOUT HEAVY WATER

• Heavy water contains significantly more than the natural proportions (one in 6,500) of heavy hydrogen (deuterium, D) atoms to ordinary hydrogen atoms.
• Heavy water is also called deuterium oxide and is denoted by the chemical formula D₂
• The density of D₂O is approximately 11% greater than that of H₂O, an ice cube made of deuterium oxide will sink in normal water.
• It is used as a moderator in Pressurised Heavy water reactors because it slows down neutrons effectively and also has a low probability of absorption of neutrons.
• It is also used for non-Nuclear Application (Metabolism studies, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Semiconductors

NOTE-

• Tritium or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or 3H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of about 12 years.