The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-12-21
-Dietz on Science
HEAVY WATER
OUTPUT TO Be
MUCH LARGER
Columbia Professor Heads
Plant to Set New
Marx.
BY DAVID DIETZ
Scripps- Howard Science Editor

Within the next two or three
months, the chemistry depart
ment of Columbia university ex-
poets to have a pound Of heavy
water on hand. A new plant. de-
signed to yield a larger daily amount
Of heavy water than any plant now
in existence has been put into OPP
Grafton under the direction Of Pro-
lessor Harold c. Urey.
Just two years ago. in December.
1881, Professor Urey. DR.. George
Murphy Of Columbia university and
DR.. S. G. Brickwitey Of the United
States bureau Of standards, an
nounced the discovery Of heavy
water.
The substance gets its name from
the fact that there are two kinds of
hydrogen atoms, one weighing twice
as much as the other
Each molecule Of water consists Of
two atoms of hydrogen and one
atom Of oxygen. In an ordinary
sample of water, there are about
5000 Of the lighter atoms of hydro
gen involved to every one of the
heater atoms.
Heavy water consists Of water
containing only the heavier atoms
Of hydrogen.
known as Deuterium'
Professor Urey uses the name
'protium" for hydrogen consisting
of the lighter and "deuterium" for
that consisting Of the heavier atems.
If these names come into general
use, laymen Will have to remember
them if they expect to find their
way around in the scientific world.
AS matter Of fact, it is possible
to make several varieties of heavy
water. For, in addition to the two
kinds of hydrogen atoms. with
atomic weights of 1908 and 2, there
are three kinds of oxygen atoms or
isotopes, having atomic weights of
Is, II and IS.
The three oxygen atoms. however,
are so close together in weight, that
it has not been thought necessary to
give them individual names, and at
present at any rate, scientists do not
attach as much importance to their
effect as they do to the hydrogen
isotopes.
In manufacturing the heavy
water at Columbia, Professor Urey
has made no attempt to sort out the
oxygen atoms, using all three varie-
ties, but, Of course, only the heavy
hydrogen isotope.
Process of Manufacture
The ordinary commercial electro
lytic plant manufactures hydrogen
and oxygen by passing an electric
current through water. Hydrogen
and oxygen are given in the form of
gases. But in this process, it is the
lighter hydrogen atoms that come
off. The heavy hydrogen atoms re-
main in the residue of water In the
electrolytic cells.
AS already mentioned, the proper
ton Of light to heavy hydrogen
atoms is 5000 to one in an ordinary
sample Of water. Under Professor
Urey's direction, 1000 gallons of wa
ter, which was the residue from 100
cell electrolytic plant was collected.
These 1000 gallons were then, by
electrolysis, reduced to a residue of
$50 gallons. This gave a ratio of
heavy to light hydrogen atoms of
one to 200
The Columbia chemical laboratory
then obtained fifty gallons Of this
second solution and by submitting
it again to electrolysis reduced it to
one-third Of its former volume. This
gave a concentration of heavy
atoms Of one to 100.
Aids in Research
The process is repeated until a
solution is obtained in which forty
out Of every one hundred hydrogen
atoms are heavy ones. From this
point on, the process becomes in
creasingly difficult, but eventually a
solution is obtained which contains
only the heavy atoms.
Professor Urey has embarked
upon series of experiments with
heavy water which, it is expected,
will test and clarity many chemical
theories. The reason for this is that
the heavy hydrogen atom is what
he calls tagged atom
Because Of its weight, its presence
always can be detected by the
proper sort of measurements. In
this way, the heavy hydrogen atom
can be used to check up on the be-
havior of molecules.