Mass-independent Fractionation
Mass-independent isotope fractionation or Non-mass-dependent fractionation (NMD), refers to any chemical or physical process that acts to separate isotopes, where the amount of separation does not scale in proportion with the difference in the masses of the isotopes. Most isotopic fractionations (including typical kinetic fractionations and equilibrium fractionations) are caused by the effects of the mass of an isotope on atomic or molecular velocities, diffusivities or bond strengths. Mass-independent fractionation processes are less common, occurring mainly in photochemical and spin-forbidden reactions. Observation of mass-independently fractionated materials can therefore be used to trace these types of reactions in nature and in laboratory experiments. Mass-independent fractionation in nature The most notable examples of mass-independent fractionation in nature are found in the isotopes of oxygen and sulfur. The first example was discovered by Robert N. Clayton, Toshiko May ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Isotope Fractionation
Isotope fractionation describes fractionation processes that affect the relative abundance of isotopes, a phenomena that occurs (and so advantage is taken of it) in the study geochemistry, biochemistry, food science, and other fields. Normally, the focus is on stable isotopes of the same element. Isotopic fractionation can be measured by isotope analysis, using isotope-ratio mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance methods ( specialised techniques,) cavity ring-down spectroscopy, etc., to measure ratios of isotopes, important tools to understand geochemical and biological systems, past and present. For example, biochemical processes cause changes in ratios of stable carbon isotopes incorporated into biomass. Definition Stable isotopes partitioning between two substances ''A'' and ''B'' can be expressed by the use of the isotopic fractionation factor (alpha): : where ''R'' is the ratio of the heavy to light isotope (e.g., 2H/1H or 18O/16O). Values for alpha tend to be v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar System" and "solar system" structures in theinaming guidelines document. The name is commonly rendered in lower case ('solar system'), as, for example, in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' an''Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary''. is the gravitationally bound Planetary system, system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. It Formation and evolution of the Solar System, formed about 4.6 billion years ago when a dense region of a molecular cloud collapsed, forming the Sun and a protoplanetary disc. The Sun is a typical star that maintains a hydrostatic equilibrium, balanced equilibrium by the thermonuclear fusion, fusion of hydrogen into helium at its stellar core, core, releasing this energy from its outer photosphere. As ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Excited State
In quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ..., an excited state of a system (such as an atom, molecule or Atomic nucleus, nucleus) is any quantum state of the system that has a higher energy than the ground state (that is, more energy than the absolute minimum). Excitation refers to an increase in energy level above a chosen starting point, usually the ground state, but sometimes an already excited state. The temperature of a group of particles is indicative of the level of excitation (with the notable exception of systems that exhibit negative temperature). The lifetime of a system in an excited state is usually short: Spontaneous emission, spontaneous or stimulated emission, induced emission of a quantum of energy (such as a photon or a phonon) usually ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kinetic Isotope Effect
In physical organic chemistry, a kinetic isotope effect (KIE) is the change in the reaction rate of a chemical reaction when one of the atoms in the reactants is replaced by one of its isotopes. Formally, it is the ratio of rate constants for the reactions involving the light (''k'') and the heavy (''k'') isotopically substituted reactants ( isotopologues): KIE = ''k/k''. This change in reaction rate is a quantum effect that occurs mainly because heavier isotopologues have lower vibrational frequencies than their lighter counterparts. In most cases, this implies a greater energy input needed for heavier isotopologues to reach the transition state (or, in rare cases, dissociation limit), and therefore, a slower reaction rate. The study of KIEs can help elucidate reaction mechanisms, and is occasionally exploited in drug development to improve unfavorable pharmacokinetics by protecting metabolically vulnerable C-H bonds. Background KIE is considered one of the most essential ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rudolph Marcus
Rudolph Arthur Marcus (born July 21, 1923) is a Canadian-born American chemist who received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems". Marcus theory, named after him, provides a thermodynamic and kinetic framework for describing one electron outer-sphere electron transfer. He is a professor at Caltech, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. Education and early life Marcus was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Esther (born Cohen) and Myer Marcus. His father was born in New York and his mother was born in England. His family background is from Ukmergė (Lithuania).Marcus, Rudolph A. Interview by Shirley K. Cohen. Pasadena, California, December 1, 7, and 14, 1993. Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives. Retrieved 2020 from the World Wide Web: http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Marcus_R He ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stratosphere
The stratosphere () is the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere of Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is composed of stratified temperature zones, with the warmer layers of air located higher (closer to outer space) and the cooler layers lower (closer to the planetary surface of the Earth). The increase of temperature with altitude is a result of the absorption of the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation by the ozone layer, where ozone is exothermically photolyzed into oxygen in a cyclical fashion. This temperature inversion is in contrast to the troposphere, where temperature decreases with altitude, and between the troposphere and stratosphere is the tropopause border that demarcates the beginning of the temperature inversion. Near the equator, the lower edge of the stratosphere is as high as , at mid-latitudes around , and at the poles about . Temperatures range from an average of near the tropopause to an average of ne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Thiemens
Mark Howard Thiemens is a distinguished professor and the John Doves Isaacs Endowed Chair in Natural Philosophy of Physical Sciences in the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California San Diego. He is best known for the discovery of a new physical chemical phenomenon termed the mass independent isotope effect. His studies have crossed a broad range of topics including basic physical and quantum chemistry, Solar System origin, tracking the origin and evolution of life on early Earth; stratospheric chemistry, climate change and greenhouse gas identification, Mars atmospheric chemistry, past and future and isotope geochemistry. His work combines photochemical isotope studies, both laboratory and synchrotron based, field work in the South Pole, Greenland Summit and the Tibetan Himalayas for climate and geological sampling across China for early Earth rock records. His non-isotope work has included discovery of an unknown source of the greenhouse gas nitro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ozone
Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , breaking down in the lower atmosphere to (dioxygen). Ozone is formed from dioxygen by the action of ultraviolet (UV) light and electrical discharges within the Earth's atmosphere. It is present in very low concentrations throughout the atmosphere, with its highest concentration high in the ozone layer of the stratosphere, which absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Ozone's odor is reminiscent of chlorine, and detectable by many people at concentrations of as little as in air. Ozone's O3 chemical structure, structure was determined in 1865. The molecule was later proven to have a bent structure and to be weakly diamagnetism, diamagnetic. At standard temperature and pressure, ozone is a pale blue gas that condenses at cryogenic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simplest oxocarbon, carbon oxide. In coordination complexes, the carbon monoxide ligand is called ''metal carbonyl, carbonyl''. It is a key ingredient in many processes in industrial chemistry. The most common source of carbon monoxide is the partial combustion of carbon-containing compounds. Numerous environmental and biological sources generate carbon monoxide. In industry, carbon monoxide is important in the production of many compounds, including drugs, fragrances, and fuels. Indoors CO is one of the most acutely toxic contaminants affecting indoor air quality. CO may be emitted from tobacco smoke and generated from malfunctioning fuel-burning stoves (wood, kerosene, natural gas, propane) and fuel-burning heating systems (wood, oil, n ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Photodissociation
Photodissociation, photolysis, photodecomposition, or photofragmentation is a chemical reaction in which molecules of a chemical compound are broken down by absorption of light or photons. It is defined as the interaction of one or more photons with one target molecule that dissociates into two fragments. Here, “light” is broadly defined as radiation spanning the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), ultraviolet (UV), visible, and infrared (IR) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. To break covalent bonds, photon energies corresponding to visible, UV, or VUV light are typically required, whereas IR photons may be sufficiently energetic to detach ligands from coordination complexes or to fragment supramolecular complexes. Photolysis in photosynthesis Photolysis is part of the light-dependent reaction, light phase, photochemical phase, or Hill reaction of photosynthesis. The general reaction of photosynthetic photolysis can be given in terms of photons as: :\ce + 2 \text \longrigh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Genesis (spacecraft)
''Genesis'' was a NASA sample-return mission, sample-return probe that collected a sample of solar wind particles and returned them to Earth for analysis. It was the first NASA sample-return mission to return material since the Apollo program, and the first to return material from beyond the orbit of the Moon. ''Genesis'' was launched on August 8, 2001, and the sample return capsule crash-landed in Utah on September 8, 2004, after a design flaw prevented the deployment of its drogue parachute. The crash contaminated many of the sample collectors. Although most were damaged, some of the collectors were successfully recovered. The ''Genesis'' science team demonstrated that some of the contamination could be removed or avoided, and that the solar wind particles could be analyzed using a variety of approaches, achieving all of the mission's major science objectives. Objectives The mission's primary science objectives were: * To obtain precise solar isotope, isotopic abundances o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Solar Wind
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun's outermost atmospheric layer, the Stellar corona, corona. This Plasma (physics), plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between . The composition of the solar wind plasma also includes a mixture of particle species found in the solar plasma: trace amounts of heavy ions and atomic nuclei of Chemical element, elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, and iron. There are also rarer traces of some other nuclei and isotopes such as phosphorus, titanium, chromium, and nickel's isotopes 58Ni, 60Ni, and 62Ni. Superimposed with the solar-wind plasma is the interplanetary magnetic field. The solar wind varies in density, temperature and speed over time and over Solar coordinate systems#Heliographic, solar latitude and longitude. Its particles can escape the Sun's gravity because of their high energy resulting from the high temperature of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |