DEUTERIUM

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does deuterium mean? 

• DEUTERIUM (noun)
  The noun DEUTERIUM has 1 sense:

1. an isotope of hydrogen which has one neutron (as opposed to zero neutrons in hydrogen)

  Familiarity information: DEUTERIUM used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEUTERIUM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An isotope of hydrogen which has one neutron (as opposed to zero neutrons in hydrogen)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

deuterium; heavy hydrogen

Hypernyms ("deuterium" is a kind of...):

isotope (one of two or more atoms with the same atomic number but with different numbers of neutrons)

hydrogen atom (an atom of hydrogen)

 Context examples 

A noncarcinogenic and structural analogue of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), phenanthrene labeled with deuterium ([D10]Phe) with potential use in assessing an individual's capacity for PAH metabolism by the diol epoxide pathway.

(Deuterated Phenanthrene, NCI Thesaurus)

A stable, non-radioactive isotopic form of water, containing 2 atoms of deuterium (D) and one atom of oxygen (2D2O), with DNA-labeling activity.

(Deuterium Oxide, NCI Thesaurus)

A higher proportion of the heavier isotopes, such as oxygen-18 and hydrogen-2 (deuterium), would indicate drought conditions.

(Scientists measure severity of drought during the Maya collapse, University of Cambridge)

That means water vapor transpired from plants has more deuterium than water vapor evaporated from the ocean.

(New Study Shows the Amazon Makes Its Own Rainy Season, NASA)

A brown dwarf converts hydrogen to deuterium, a hydrogen isotope, rather than helium, which is the usual result of such a process from most stars including the Sun.

(Astronomers discover smallest known star, Wikinews)

By measuring the amount of 3-MH in the urine, via analysis of deuterium, the rate of protein muscle catabolism can be determined and the risk of skeletal muscle atrophy or cachexia can be assessed. 3-methylhistidine is a myofibrillar-specific amino acid and is mainly found in muscle myosin and actin; proteolysis of myofibrils releases 3-MH that is excreted unchanged in the urine.

(Deuterated 3-Methylhistidine, NCI Thesaurus)

Water vapor that evaporated into the atmosphere has less deuterium than liquid water.

(New Study Shows the Amazon Makes Its Own Rainy Season, NASA)

Rapidly dividing cells, as in the case of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), can be labeled with deuterium oxide and measured using gas chromatography and/or mass spectrometry.

(Deuterium Oxide, NCI Thesaurus)

For example, water vapor that evaporated from the ocean has less deuterium than water that's still in the ocean.

(New Study Shows the Amazon Makes Its Own Rainy Season, NASA)

Upon ingestion of deuterium oxide, 2H is incorporated into the deoxyribose moiety of DNA of newly divided cells.

(Deuterium Oxide, NCI Thesaurus)