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water and heavy water



Gang:

It seems like a slow day on the net. Thought might bring up a subject I
have been thinking about for thirty years. Years ago I read that an
animal with only heavy water to drink would die of thirst. This was a
real shocker to me because I had bought into the notion that all isotopes
are the same chemically, and that hydrogen ions and deuterium ions should
be the same in solution.

Now that I have written this I have to admit that I know of exceptions.
A gaseous diffusion plant would not work unless the heavier isotopes
found it more difficult to pass semipermeable membrane than the lighter
ones.

At any rate I wonder about a few things. Is the statement true? If so
is it a chemical effect or is it due to the fact that the heavy old
deuterium ions are not as mobile as the hydrogen ones? Is something else
at work here?
Barlow Newbolt