Evening star., 1934-11-16
Bureau of Standards Scien-
tist Supplied Material
to Noted Chemist.
CARNEGIE INSTITUTION
WORK ALSO CONTRIBUTES
Discovery Of Deuterium Hinge
on Securing Enough Material
to Conduct Investigation.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

mere is intimately associated Win the
discovery of the hydrogen isotope H2
for which Prof. Harold c. Urey OF
Columbia University has Just been
awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry
for 1884.
The finding that hydrogen existed
in two forms resulted from expert
ments with hydrogen under high pres
sure conducted by DR.. F. G. Brick
wedde of the bureau staff and DR..
Urey's analysis Of the material.
Original Sample Here.
The original sample is still preserved
| at the bureau. Although DR.. Urey un-
doubtedly first detected the spectrum
J lines indicating the nature of the
peculiar substance produced by DR..
Brickwedde the actual isolation Of the
material itself took place here.
Heavy water" the popular name
| for DR.. Urey'S discovery, is made out
of heavy hydrogen, or hydrogen atoms
twice as heavy as the hydrogen for
merly known. 1t was this discovery
and isolation of heavy hydrogen
atoms, technically called "isotopes"
that won recognition for DR.. Urey at
the hands of the Nobel Board, the
Associated Press reported.
An "isotope" is an off-weight atom.
That is, all the atoms of the 80 known
chemical elements have standard
weights. Mixed with many, perhaps
all of them, are off-weight atoms
which are either ligher or heavier
than standard.
Until shortly before DR.. Urey's dis
covery. it was almost undreamed Of
that there could be an off-weight
hydrogen atom. The standard weight
of hydrogen, the lightest Of all
elements, was only l. Any off-weight
hydrogen, or "isotope" had to be 2.
DR.. Urey was able to prove. mathemat-
ically, the existence of this double
weight atom. Then he went at the
seemingly impossible task of separating
it from ordinary hydrogen.
With the aid of DR.. Brickwedde the
separation was made. Hydrogen was
cooled until near absolute zero, when
it was frozen liquid.
Named Deuterium.
As this hydrogen ice melted, the
lighter atoms vaporized first. That
left enough heavy hydrogen atoms to
prove their existence. The heavy
atoms were named "deuterium."
At first the significance of the dis
covery was hardly realized. but IN the
five years that have elapsed since then
it has come to the fore as one Of the
most fundamental physical discoveries
of the age. There is hardly a physical
or chemical problem which the ex-
istence of a second form Of hydrogen
may not eventually effect in some way
or other. 1t may be the basis OF new
chemistry.
The greatest spur to research in this
line came from the production OF
heavy water by an electrolysis process
by the late Dr. Edward w. WaShburn.
then chief chemist of the Bureau OF
Standards. Ordinary water contains,
by weight, 2 parts of hydrogen to l6
! parts of oxygen. If the heavy hydro
gen, or deuterium, atoms entered the
combination instead Of ordinary hy-
drogen the formula would be 4 parts
of hydrogen to 16 parts of water.
Now the peculiar properties OF water
are the basis of life. 1t is the CHIEF
properties were slightly different than
they are life as it is known on earth
would be impossible. And hitherto
water had been taken for granted.
The very discovery Of deuterium I'M
piled that there must be heavy water.
Lost in Space.
Presumably hydrogen atoms are
continuously escaping from the sur
face of the earth and being lost in
space. The lighter ones escape most
easily. 1t is conceivable that in some
far distant future only heavy hydro
gen, and consequently heavy water,
will be left. Ordinary water evapo-
rates most easily. There has been
constant search for unusual proper
ton Of the heavy water in such
sources as the Great Salt Lake or the
Dead Sea and in the weeping willow
tree, where it would be expected to
be left behind by evaporation. The
human body is composed largely of
water and presumably, as age ad-
vances, more and more of this would
be of the heavy variety. 1t has been
suggested that this may be a funda-
mental cause Of old age. The biologi-
cal properties of heavy water differ
materially from those of ordinary
water and, while the experiments are
somewhat inconclusive, appear to be
less favorable to living organisms.
Deuterium placed in the hands of
-. ,l-sz -
to attack the old problem of the trans
mutation Of elements, constituting a
heavy nucleus with which to lombard
the nuclei of heavier and more COM
plex atoms. BY using this projectile
some curious results have been OBJ
tained, chiefly in producing the phe-
nomenon of radio-activity in elements
which otherwise do not show this in
any measurable degree. Noteworthy
work has been done in this line at the
Geophysical laboratory of the Carnegie
Institution Of Washington.
Heavier Isotopes Sought.
The isolation Of deuterium has
brought about an active search for still
heavier isotopes Of hydrogen and at
least one, Of triple weight, has been
found. There are claims of still
others, which exist in extremely mi
mute quantities on the earth, but may
play an important part in celestial
mechanics.
The isolation of heavy hydrogen
opens the way to clearer under
standing Of The processes by which the
universe has been built up out of
atoms of ordinary hydrogen, with the
formation of higher and continuously
more complex elements from the sun
gas helium to uranium.
Prof. Urey will receive a cash prize
Of approximately $4,000. The formal
ceremony of presentation will be held
December u, the Associated Press re-