What is Heavy Water? .

Water is an amazing chemical on Earth. As a liquid, it is a life-giver for us. Its solid form, ice, and gaseous form, steam, are also useful to us in many ways. Water also has another form called 'heavy water'. Heavy water is used in nuclear reactors and high-level research. It looks just like normal water, but its hydrogen and oxygen atoms are more strongly bonded. Heavy water freezes at 3.82 degrees Celsius and boils at 101 degrees Celsius. It is twice as heavy as normal water. However, these differences are not noticeable. In 1931, a scientist named Gilbert Newton discovered how to make heavy water. Heavy water cannot be used for drinking. However, about 1/3200th of ordinary water is naturally heavy water.

India is the largest producer of heavy water and exports it to other countries. This water is used in nuclear research and is very expensive, costing about 20,000 rupees per liter!