Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
[1] [2] The third law is also more generally stated as: "To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts." [3] The attribution of which of the two forces is the action and which is the reaction is arbitrary. Either of the two can be ...
A branch of physics that studies atoms as isolated systems of electrons and an atomic nucleus. Compare nuclear physics. atomic structure atomic weight (A) The sum total of protons (or electrons) and neutrons within an atom. audio frequency A periodic vibration whose frequency is in the band audible to the average human, the human hearing range.
The rate at which reactions occur depends on the energy and the flux of the incident particles, and the reaction cross section. An example of a large repository of reaction rates is the REACLIB database, as maintained by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics.
A and B can react to form C and D or, in the reverse reaction, C and D can react to form A and B. This is distinct from a reversible process in thermodynamics. Weak acids and bases undergo reversible reactions. For example, carbonic acid: H 2 CO 3 (l) + H 2 O (l) ⇌ HCO 3 − (aq) + H 3 O + (aq).
Another example of a double displacement reaction is the reaction of lead(II) nitrate with potassium iodide to form lead(II) iodide and potassium nitrate: + + Forward and backward reactions According to Le Chatelier's Principle , reactions may proceed in the forward or reverse direction until they end or reach equilibrium .
In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that systems which are not in thermodynamic equilibrium can release energy or increase entropy in order to reach a state of higher entropy. For example, a system may not be able to reach a lower energy state by releasing energy into ...
Physical chemistry, in contrast to chemical physics, is predominantly (but not always) a supra-molecular science, as the majority of the principles on which it was founded relate to the bulk rather than the molecular or atomic structure alone (for example, chemical equilibrium and colloids).
Some multistep reactions can also have apparent negative activation energies. For example, the overall rate constant k for a two-step reaction A ⇌ B, B → C is given by k = k 2 K 1, where k 2 is the rate constant of the rate-limiting slow second step and K 1 is the equilibrium constant of the rapid