What Makes Oscillating Reactions a Form of 'Chemical Magic'?

AI Thread Summary
Oscillating reactions, often referred to as 'chemical magic,' are based on the principles of coupled rate equations, which lead to sinusoidal solutions. These reactions do not violate the laws of thermodynamics; instead, they illustrate complex dynamics similar to those found in population studies. The key to understanding oscillations lies in the interaction of multiple coupled systems, which can produce periodic behavior without breaking any fundamental scientific laws. The perception of these reactions as magical stems from their counterintuitive nature, but they are rooted in established chemical principles.
Turkish
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What are the basic principles behind oscillating reactions, I mean, if its known as 'chemical magic' what must it undergo to be such a thing?

I've been looking all over the web and havn't been able to find enough information, for example, how the laws of thermodynamics are broken or how it contradicts common sense.

Any help will be appreciated, thanks!:)
 
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http://www.sci.wsu.edu/idea/OscilChem/

You've had diffEq? It's the same sort of thing you run into if you start doing real population dynamics studies rather than playing with the simple exponential kinetic models. Tie enough coupled systems together, and you get oscillations.
 
Laws of the thermodynamics are not broken in oscillating reactions. In fact they are never broken. Once one of them get broken, it will be no longer law :wink:
 
Turkish said:
What are the basic principles behind oscillating reactions, I mean, if its known as 'chemical magic' what must it undergo to be such a thing?
Consider the simplest case of a pair of coupled rate equations:
dx/dt=k_1y~,~~dy/dt=k_2x
The solutions are sinusoidal.

No magic...no broken laws.
 
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