6 ms·
Deuterium is most certainly not a perfect substitute for ordinary hydrogen (or protium). At the chemical level, deuterium (D, since I can't figure out how to to
by spdustin 12y ago
Deuterium is most certainly not a perfect substitute for ordinary hydrogen (or protium). At the chemical level, deuterium (D, since I can't figure out how to to superscripts) is fundamentally different from hydrogen (H).
Chemical bonds involving D are stronger, IIRC due to increased the energy requirements to activate the transition state. I also recall from chemistry that water made with D (D2O, or heavy water) can be toxic to all but the most basic of single called life forms (prokaryotes). It's okay for humans to ingest large quantities of it in a short period, but replacing body water with heavy water would lead to cell death.
- lotsofmangos 12y agoReplacing more than 25% of your body's water with deuterium is very bad for you, however Mikhail Shchepinov has been drinking it for years on the theory that the stronger bonds might reduce some of the chemical reactions associated with aging. http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/March/22030703.asp http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/March/22030703.a...
- dnautics 12y agoYep deuterium is a smidge more chemically stable than hydrogen, but iirc the difference is about 10% so if it's chemical burning that's going on the machine should still run. If it's nuclear than it should suck energy much less effectively since the specific Ni+H reaction that is claimed should not happen at all.