Unstable molecules - is the instability relative to environment?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the concept of molecular instability and its relationship to environmental conditions, exploring whether instability is relative to the environment. Participants consider both terrestrial and extraterrestrial contexts, examining how reaction pathways and environmental factors influence molecular stability.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that highly unstable molecules on Earth could be stable in space due to the absence of reaction pathways, raising the question of whether such molecules exist in a vacuum.
  • Another participant points out that instability can also be observed on Earth, citing free radicals that can become stable due to steric hindrance, referred to as "persistent radicals."
  • Phosphorescence is mentioned as an example where energy transitions can be "forbidden," leading to stability in excited states.
  • A participant questions the definition of a complete vacuum, discussing the presence of galaxies and the implications for stability and pressure in vacuum conditions.
  • Concerns are raised about the nature of vacuum in relation to chemical reactions and the presence of X-rays and other forms of light traveling through space.
  • Another participant emphasizes that the definition of vacuum depends on the volume of space considered, noting variations in substance density across different regions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of vacuum and its implications for molecular stability, indicating that multiple competing perspectives remain without consensus.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the complexity of defining vacuum and its relationship to molecular behavior, with unresolved questions regarding the nature of space and the conditions under which stability is assessed.

Simfish
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Unstable molecules - is the instability "relative" to environment?

There are many highly unstable chemical configurations. Most chemicals, after all, would prefer to move from high-energy states to low-energy states. This is usually possible due to the presence of a reaction pathway that makes this possible.

But what if there was no possible reaction pathway? On Earth, those reaction pathways are almost always possible. But in space, you might have no possible reaction pathway, so many molecules that are highly unstable on Earth - could conceivably be highly stable in space. In areas of almost complete vacuums, you could conceivably have molecules that are *extremely* ionic. Do those molecules even exist?

Of course, in every environment, there is a point where the least energy would be achieved if the molecule simply dissociated into individual atoms rather than maintain itself.
 
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You don't need to go into space, it works even on Earth. For example free radicals are usually very reactive, but in some cases steric hindrance makes them quite stable. They are called then "persistent radicals".

Same about phosphorescence. To emit energy molecule has to go one from energy state to another. Sometimes these transitions are "forbidden" - for example they require change in multiplicity - so the excited molecule is quite stable.
 


I have one question, When we mean complete vacuum, do we mean the absence of everything therein inside that space or just a few chosen things...(I am not referring to existence of Ether or not..)
Coz space is not vacuum... you have many galaxies in it.. So how is it vacuum?
And if there is a vacuum, then how can things be stably floating in vacuum, what about pressure inside a vacuum chamber.. If it is a vacuum, then it must have been filled...at some point in time..
And well if you take the chemical reaction into vacuum, u would not have vacuum but your experiment...
Dont we have X-Rays traveling though space.. (well forgot it is part of the big baggage called light, including radio waves and microwaves)
Well I am not trying to reply to your experiment.. but would only like to know how we define space as a vacuum.. and how we define space as being something apart from the many galaxies in it.
Another quick question... In the atom, is there any space left between the protons and neutrons, in the electron cloud region, well if there is space and nothing is there.. or there are tight spaces where nothing fills, is that vacuum too. Just a thought!??!??
Merry Christmas or well wishing everyone a wonderful year ending...
 


It is all about the volume you are interested in. Take a cubic meter of space - in some places it will contain many moles of substances, in some places it will contain single molecules. The less, the better vacuum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_space#Intergalactic
 

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