Optical spectroscopic determination of hydrogen isotopes in aqueous mixtures

Extension of t he optical spectroscopi c method of isotope analysis of gaseous mi xtures of hyd rogen and deuterium to mix t ures of water a nd heavy water provides a direct metho ~l for determining the total water content of materials. A determination can be made on a sa':lple of less t han 0.1 millili t.e~ !n less than 10 minutes to an accuracy of a few percent. Usmg a sample of at least 1 mlllJlt ter , an acc uracy of the o rd er of 0.1 percent is obtained in an hour or less. This paper describes the syste m a nd t he investigation of op t imum operatinO" conditions and effect of variations i n operating condi tions on precision and accuracy of measurement, as well as limitatio ns of the tec hnique. A sample of blood or serum can be measured directly almost a s ~as i l y as one of distilled water. The op t ical spectroscopic method can be used to determlll c t he water conte nt of most materials whether in the solid liq uid , or gas phase. "