deuterium

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noun deu·te·ri·um \ dü-ˈtir-ē-əm also dyü- \

Definition of deuterium

:an isotope of hydrogen that has one proton and one neutron in its nucleus and that has twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen —symbol D — called also heavy hydrogen

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Recent Examples of deuterium from the Web

Below 80 Jupiter masses, star-like objects are called brown dwarfs and only fuse hydrogen into the isotope deuterium.

— john wenz, Popular Mechanics, "This Is the Smallest Star Ever Discovered," 11 July 2017
The fusion reactors that Princeton Satellite Systems is developing uses low-frequency radio waves to heat a mix of deuterium and helium-3, and magnetic fields to confine the resulting plasma in a ring.

— NBC News, "Are These Little Rockets the Future of Spaceflight?," 13 June 2017
The fuels were deuterium and tritium, rare forms of hydrogen.

— william j. broad, New York Times, "U.S. Nuclear History Offers Clues to North Korea’s Progress," 22 May 2017
Deuterium, which is an isotope of hydrogen, has a neutron in its nucleus.

— National Geographic, "Inside the Daring Mission That Thwarted a Nazi Atomic Bomb," 5 June 2016
No, not robots fashioned of these materials or a new form of nuclear fusion that uses dried out husks and leaves to spark the deuterium-tritium cycle.

— mark anderson, WIRED, "Bringing sexy back (a.k.a. Corn! Wood pellets!)," 10 Mar. 2007

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deuterium.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of deuterium

New Latin, from Greek deuteros second

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1933

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

deuterium

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noun deu·te·ri·um \ d(y)ü-ˈtir-ē-əm \

medical Definition of deuterium

:an isotope of hydrogen that has one proton and one neutron in its nucleus and that has twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen — called also heavy hydrogen