ABSTRACT
In 1932, as a result of the spectral analysis of hydrogen remaining in 1 cm3 after equilibrium evaporation of 4 l of liquid hydrogen, the heavy isotope of hydrogendeuterium 12 D-was discovered (Urey et al. 1932). In the following year, using stepwise reduction, by electrolysis, of the alkaline water solution from an initial 20 l to a final volume of 0.5 cm3, Lewis and MacDonald obtained water with a deuterium concentration of 67.5% for the first time (Lewis and MacDonald 1933). In 1934, the first plant for the production of heavy water by electrolysis began operation in Ryukane (Norway). In 1938, it produced 40 kg of the product, in 1939 twice as much, and the maximum capacity of the plant in the last year of its existence (1942) was 1.54 tons of heavy water (Benedict 1956). Thus, until 1943, all the world’s stocks of heavy water were produced by electrolysis.
