Deuterium is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen; the other is protium, or hydrogen-1, 1H. The deuterium nucleus contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more common 1H has no neutrons.
Deuterium glowing in a gas discharge tube
Ionized deuterium in a fusor reactor giving off its characteristic pinkish-red glow
Harold Urey, deuterium's discoverer
The "Sausage" device casing of the Ivy Mike H bomb, attached to instrumentation and cryogenic equipment. The 20-ft-tall bomb held a cryogenic Dewar flask with room for 160 kg of liquid deuterium.
Fusion power is a potential method of electric power generation from heat released by nuclear fusion reactions. In fusion, two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus and release energy.
Deuterium
…hydrogen nuclei). Deuterium is subsequently produced by the slow stellar proton–proton chain, but rapidly destroyed by exothermic fusion reactions. The deuterium–deuterium reaction has the second-lowest energy threshold, and is the most astrophysically accessible, occurring in both stars and brown dwarfs. The gas giant planets…
Fusion plasma in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak.
Early photo of plasma inside a pinch machine (Imperial College 1950–1951)
The UK claimed that it had gotten fusion first in 1957 on ZETA, but this claim had to later be withdrawn.
Magnetic mirrors suffered from end losses, requiring high power, complex magnetic designs, such as the baseball coil pictured here.