Chain Reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. 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 the environment, because it is hindered or prevented in some way from taking the path that will result in the energy release. If a reaction results in a small energy release making way for more energy releases in an expanding chain, then the system will typically collapse explosively until much or all of the stored energy has been released. A macroscopic metaphor for chain reactions is thus a snowball causing a larger snowball until finally an avalanche results ("snowball effect"). This is a result of stored gravitation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Positive Feedback
Positive feedback (exacerbating feedback, self-reinforcing feedback) is a process that occurs in a feedback loop which exacerbates the effects of a small disturbance. That is, the effects of a perturbation on a system include an increase in the magnitude of the perturbation. That is, ''A produces more of B which in turn produces more of A''.Keesing, R.M. (1981). Cultural anthropology: A contemporary perspective (2nd ed.) p.149. Sydney: Holt, Rinehard & Winston, Inc. In contrast, a system in which the results of a change act to reduce or counteract it has negative feedback. Both concepts play an important role in science and engineering, including biology, chemistry, and cybernetics. Mathematically, positive feedback is defined as a positive loop gain around a closed loop of cause and effect. That is, positive feedback is Phase (waves), in phase with the input, in the sense that it adds to make the input larger. Positive feedback tends to cause Control theory#Stability, system i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hendrik Anthony Kramers
Hendrik Anthony "Hans" Kramers (17 December 1894 – 24 April 1952) was a Dutch physicist who worked with Niels Bohr to understand how electromagnetic waves interact with matter and made important contributions to quantum mechanics and statistical physics. Background and education Hans Kramers was born on 17 December 1894 in Rotterdam. the son of Hendrik Kramers, a physician, and Jeanne Susanne Breukelman. In 1912 Hans finished secondary education ( HBS) in Rotterdam, and studied mathematics and physics at the University of Leiden, where he obtained a master's degree in 1916. Kramers wanted to obtain foreign experience during his doctoral research, but his first choice of supervisor, Max Born in Göttingen, was not reachable because of the First World War. Because Denmark was neutral in this war, as was the Netherlands, he travelled (by ship, overland was impossible) to Copenhagen, where he visited unannounced the then still relatively unknown Niels Bohr. Bohr took him on as a Ph ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rate Equation
In chemistry, the rate law or rate equation for a reaction is an equation that links the initial or forward reaction rate with the concentrations or pressures of the reactants and constant parameters (normally rate coefficients and partial reaction orders). For many reactions, the initial rate is given by a power law such as :v_0\; =\; k mathrmx mathrmy where and express the concentration of the species and usually in moles per liter (molarity, ). The exponents and are the partial ''orders of reaction'' for and and the ''overall'' reaction order is the sum of the exponents. These are often positive integers, but they may also be zero, fractional, or negative. The constant is the reaction rate constant or ''rate coefficient'' of the reaction. Its value may depend on conditions such as temperature, ionic strength, surface area of an adsorbent, or light irradiation. If the reaction goes to completion, the rate equation for the reaction rate v\; =\; k cex cey applies throug ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Recombination (chemistry)
Dissociation in chemistry is a general process in which molecules (or ionic compounds such as salts, or complexes) separate or split into other things such as atoms, ions, or radicals, usually in a reversible manner. For instance, when an acid dissolves in water, a covalent bond between an electronegative atom and a hydrogen atom is broken by heterolytic fission, which gives a proton (H+) and a negative ion. Dissociation is the opposite of association or recombination. Dissociation constant For reversible dissociations in a chemical equilibrium :AB A + B the dissociation constant ''K''d is the ratio of dissociated to undissociated compound :K_d = \mathrm where the brackets denote the equilibrium concentrations of the species. Dissociation degree The dissociation degree \alpha is the fraction of original solute molecules that have dissociated. It is usually indicated by the Greek symbol α. More accurately, degree of dissociation refers to the amount of solute dissociated int ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chain Termination
Chain termination is any chemical reaction that ceases the formation of reactive intermediates in a chain propagation step in the course of a polymerization, effectively bringing it to a halt. Mechanisms of termination In polymer chemistry, there are several mechanisms by which a polymerization reaction can terminate depending on the mechanism and circumstances of the reaction. A method of termination that applies to all polymer reactions is the depletion of monomer. In chain growth polymerization, two growing chains can collide head to head causing the growth of both of the chains to stop. In the case of radical or anionic polymerization, chain transfer can occur where the radical at the end of the growing chain can be transferred from the chain to an individual monomer unit causing a new chain to start growing and the previous chain to stop growing. With step-growth polymerization, the reaction can be terminated by adding a monofunctional species containing the same funct ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Polymer
A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic and natural polymers play essential and ubiquitous roles in everyday life. Polymers range from familiar synthetic plastics such as polystyrene to natural biopolymers such as DNA and proteins that are fundamental to biological structure and function. Polymers, both natural and synthetic, are created via polymerization of many small molecules, known as monomers. Their consequently large molecular mass, relative to small molecule compounds, produces unique physical properties including toughness, high elasticity, viscoelasticity, and a tendency to form amorphous and semicrystalline structures rather than crystals. The term "polymer" derives from the Greek word πολύς (''polus'', meaning "many, much") and μέρος (''meros'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chain Transfer
Chain transfer is a polymerization Chemical reaction, reaction by which the activity of a growing polymer chain is transferred to another molecule. :P• + XR' → PX + R'• Chain transfer reactions reduce the average molecular weight of the final polymer. Chain transfer can be either introduced deliberately into a polymerization (by use of a ''chain transfer agent'') or it may be an unavoidable side-reaction with various components of the polymerization. Chain transfer reactions occur in most forms of addition polymerization including radical polymerization, ring-opening polymerization, coordination polymerization, and cationic polymerization, as well as anionic polymerization. Types Chain transfer reactions are usually categorized by the nature of the molecule that reacts with the growing chain. * Transfer to chain transfer agent. Chain transfer agents have at least one weak chemical bond, which therefore facilitates the chain transfer reaction. Common chain transfer age ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chain Propagation
Chain propagation (sometimes referred to as propagation) is a process in which a reactive intermediate is continuously regenerated during the course of a chemical chain reaction. For example, in the chlorination of methane, there is a two-step propagation cycle involving as chain carriers a chlorine atom and a methyl radical IUPAC Gold Book which are regenerated alternately: :•Cl + CH4 → HCl + •CH3 :•CH3 + Cl2 → CH3Cl + •Cl The two steps add to give the equation for the overall chain reaction: :CH4 + Cl2 → CH3Cl + HCl. Polymerization In a chain-growth polymerization ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Free Radical
A daughter category of ''Ageing'', this category deals only with the biological aspects of ageing. Ageing Ailments of unknown cause Biogerontology Biological processes Causes of death Cellular processes Gerontology Life extension Metabolic disorders Metabolism Old age Time in life Wikipedia categories named after diseases and disorders {{CatAutoTOC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Active Center (polymer Science)
An active center (sometimes called active site or kinetic-chain carrier) in polymer science Polymer science or macromolecular science is a subfield of materials science concerned with polymers, primarily synthetic polymers such as plastics and elastomers. The field of polymer science includes researchers in multiple disciplines includ ... refers to the site on a chain carrier at which reaction occurs. References Polymerization reactions {{polymer-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chain Initiation
Chain-growth polymerization ( AE) or chain-growth polymerisation ( BE) is a polymerization technique where unsaturated monomer molecules add onto the active site on a growing polymer chain one at a time. There are a limited number of these active sites at any moment during the polymerization which gives this method its key characteristics. Introduction In 1953, Paul Flory first classified polymerization as " step-growth polymerization" and "chain-growth polymerization". IUPAC recommends to further simplify "chain-growth polymerization" to "chain polymerization". It is a kind of polymerization where an active center (free radical or ion) is formed, and a plurality of monomers can be polymerized together in a short period of time to form a macromolecule having a large molecular weight. In addition to the regenerated active sites of each monomer unit, polymer growth will only occur at one (or possibly more) endpoint. Many common polymers can be obtained by chain polymerization ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cyril Norman Hinshelwood
Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood (19 June 1897 – 9 October 1967) was a British physical chemist and expert in chemical kinetics. His work in reaction mechanisms earned the 1956 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Education Born in London, his parents were Norman Macmillan Hinshelwood, a chartered accountant, and Ethel Frances née Smith. He was educated first in Canada, returning in 1905 on the death of his father to a small flat in Chelsea where he lived for the rest of his life. He then studied at Westminster City School and Balliol College, Oxford. Career During the First World War, Hinshelwood was a chemist in an explosives factory. He was a tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, from 1921 to 1937 and was Dr Lee's Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford from 1937. He served on several advisory councils on scientific matters to the British Government. His early studies of molecular kinetics led to the publication of ''Thermodynamics for Students of Chemistry'' and ''The Kinetic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |