Salt Lake Telegram | 1933-08-31 | Page 4 | Compoosition of New 'Heavy' Water Determined by California Scientist

of New Nev Heavy Water Determined by California Scientist BERKELEY Calif CaUl Aug 31 SS SS- SS Just how much of ot the increased wight oi ot heavy water sciences science's strange new cousin to aqua pura is due to heavyweight hydrogen and how much to heavyweight oxygen has been shown by Professor Gilbert N. N Lewis of the University of California Califor Califor- nia in a communication to the Journal Journal Journal Jour Jour- nal of the American Chemical soci sod ety All water molecules are composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen But there are two kinds of atoms of hydrogen and three kinds of atoms of oxygen The different atoms of any anyone one element have different weights because their atomic hearts are di different erent The H Hmay Hmay Hmay may be either hydrogen isotope atm of at m mass one or hydrogen isotope of mass two and the two common t types Pes of oxygen are isotope of mass 16 and Isotope of mass 18 Light water or nearly all of pure ordinary water is made up of the lightest hydrogen isotope isotope iso iso- tope number one and the lightest oxygen isotope number sixteen Heavy water is made up of combinations combinations combi comb nations of the heavy hydrogen and the heavy oxygen with the common lighter constituents In a given civen sampie sample sample sam sam- pie of heavy water the amount of in- in cr ased weight due to the strange hydrogen and the amount due to the heavy oxygen has never been known previously Professor Lewis tl took ok a sample of water from a still that concentrated heavy water and weighed it ft He found that its density was in excess ex ex- cess ess of light water He saturated it with ammonia when the water was at ato 0 o degrees Centigrade and then pumped off of the ammonia when the water was at room temperature By repeating this process he was able to remove 99 per cent of the heavyweight heavyweight heavyweight heavy heavy- weight hydrogen T Tie The e remaining heavy water now had an excess density density density den den- sity of ot so that the heaviness of the original sample was due to of 01 weight heavy-weight hydro hydrogen en He then started again with another another another an an- other sample of the same heavy water and treated it with sulfur dioxide to remove the Isotope of oxygen of mass 18 lB His me measurements showed that thai of the original excess density at least was due to this oxygen Adding up the figures f for or hydrogen and oxygen Professor Lewis accounted account account- ed cd for of the original He states that an improvement of this simple experiment will provide provid an exact exact ex ex- act method for lor the tho analysis of water containing isotopes of both hydrogen hydrogen hydrogen hydro hydro- gen and oxygen