Explain the isotopes of hydrogen in short.

Vedclass pdf generator app on play store
Vedclass iOS app on app store
(N/A) Hydrogen has three isotopes: protium,$^1_1H$,deuterium,$^2_1H$ (or $D$),and tritium,$^3_1H$ (or $T$). These isotopes differ from one another in the number of neutrons present in the nucleus.
Ordinary hydrogen (protium) has no neutrons,deuterium (heavy hydrogen) has one neutron,and tritium has two neutrons.
In $1934$,Harold $C$. Urey received the Nobel Prize for separating the hydrogen isotope of mass number $2$ using physical methods.
Protium is the most abundant form. Terrestrial hydrogen contains $0.0156 \%$ of deuterium,primarily as $HD$.
Tritium is rare,with a concentration of about one atom per $10^{18}$ atoms of protium. Among these,only tritium is radioactive,emitting low-energy $\beta^-$ particles with a half-life of $t_{1/2} = 12.33 \text{ years}$.
Since these isotopes share the same electronic configuration,they exhibit nearly identical chemical properties. The primary difference lies in their reaction rates,which is attributed to their different bond dissociation enthalpies.

Explore More

Similar Questions

An alkali metal hydride $(NaH)$ reacts with diborane in '$A$' to give a tetrahedral compound '$B$' which is extensively used as a reducing agent in organic synthesis. The compounds '$A$' and '$B$' respectively are

Which one of the following statements is incorrect $?$

Which of the following is an electron-precise type of hydride?

Difficult
View Solution

Hydrogen can be prepared by mixing steam and water gas at $500 \, ^oC$ in the presence of $Fe_3O_4$ and $Cr_2O_3$ as catalysts. This process is called:

Which of the following is not an isotope of hydrogen?

Vedclass Products

For Students

Vedclass Test Series

Mock tests in real JEE/NEET style with performance analysis. 5-day free trial.

Start Free Trial
For Teachers

Exam Paper Generator

Generate Set A/B/C/D exam papers from 7.5L+ questions in 2 minutes. 3 chapters free.

Try Free
For Institutes

Online Exam Module

Live online exams with unlimited students, 360° analytics & white-label branding.

See Demo