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Deuterium, also known as heavy hydrogen or D, is a stable isotope of hydrogen. Its nucleus consists of one proton and one neutron, unlike the more common isotope, protium, which has only one proton. The symbol for deuterium is often written as 2H or D.

Deuterium was discovered in 1931 by Harold Urey, who was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work. It is found naturally in water, where it forms "heavy water" (D2O) with oxygen. The natural abundance of deuterium is about 0.0156% of all hydrogen atoms.

Due to its slightly different mass compared to protium, deuterium exhibits subtle differences in its chemical and physical properties. These differences are exploited in various scientific and industrial applications. For instance, heavy water is used as a moderator and coolant in some types of nuclear reactors, such as the CANDU reactor. In spectroscopy, deuterium is used as a solvent in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to avoid signal interference from the solvent.

Deuterium is also a key component in fusion research, particularly in the deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction, which is considered a promising energy source for the future. The energy released from the fusion of deuterium nuclei is significantly higher than that of protium. Deuterium can be extracted from water through processes like electrolysis or distillation.