Physical Properties (with Comparison To Light Water)
| Property | D2O (Heavy water) | HDO (Semiheavy water) | H2O (Light water) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freezing point (°C) | 3.82 | 0.0 | |
| Boiling point (°C) | 101.4 | 100.7 | 100.0 |
| Density at STP (g/mL) | 1.1056 | 1.054 | 0.9982 |
| Temp. of maximum density (°C) | 11.6 | 4.0 | |
| Dynamic viscosity (at 20 °C, mPa·s) | 1.2467 | 1.1248 | 1.0016 |
| Surface tension (at 25 °C, μJ) | 7.187 | 7.193 | 7.198 |
| Heat of fusion (cal/mol) | 1,515 | 1,436 | |
| Heat of vaporisation (cal/mol) | 10,864 | 10,757 | 10,515 |
| pH (at 25 °C) | 7.43 (sometimes "pD") | 7.266 (sometimes "pHD") | 6.9996 |
| Refractive index (at 20 °C, 0.5893 μm) | 1.32844 | 1.33335 |
Physical properties obvious by inspection: Heavy water is 10.6% denser than ordinary water, a difference which is not immediately obvious. One of the few ways to demonstrate heavy water's physically different properties without equipment is to freeze a sample and drop it into normal water (it will sink). If the water is ice-cold the higher melting temperature of heavy ice can also be observed – it melts at 3.8 °C, and thus holds up very well in ice-cold normal water.
An early experiment reported not the "slightest difference" in taste between ordinary and heavy water; on the other hand, rats given a choice between distilled normal water and heavy water were able to avoid the heavy water based on smell, and it may be possible that it has a different taste.
No physical properties are listed for "pure" semi-heavy water, because it is unstable as a bulk liquid. In the liquid state, a few water molecules are always in an ionised state, which means the hydrogen atoms can exchange among different oxygen atoms. Semi-heavy water can be created by a chemical method but would rapidly transform into a dynamic mixture of 25% light water, 25% heavy water, and 50% semi-heavy water (however if it were made in the gas phase and directly frozen to a solid, this semiheavy ice would be stable).
Read more about this topic: Heavy Water
Famous quotes containing the words physical, properties, comparison and/or light:
“When we say that pleasure is the end, we do not mean the pleasure of the profligate or that which depends on physical enjoyment—as some think who do not understand our teachings, disagree with them, or give them an evil interpretation—but by pleasure we mean the state wherein the body is free from pain and the mind from anxiety.”
—Epicurus (c. 341–271 B.C.)
“The reason why men enter into society, is the preservation of their property; and the end why they choose and authorize a legislative, is, that there may be laws made, and rules set, as guards and fences to the properties of all the members of the society: to limit the power, and moderate the dominion, of every part and member of the society.”
—John Locke (1632–1704)
“Most parents aren’t even aware of how often they compare their children. . . . Comparisons carry the suggestion that specific conditions exist for parental love and acceptance. Thus, even when one child comes out on top in a comparison she is left feeling uneasy about the tenuousness of her position and the possibility of faring less well in the next comparison.”
—Marianne E. Neifert (20th century)
“Experience was to be taken as showing that one might get a five-pound note as one got a light for a cigarette; but one had to check the friendly impulse to ask for it in the same way.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)