A theory of
unimolecular gas reactions in which the rate with which the energized reactant molecule breaks
down is treated as a function of the energy
that it contains. The theory assumes that the rate is proportional to the number of
ways of distributing
among the internal
degrees of freedom of the reactant molecule, in such a manner that the critical energy
is localized in one particular degree of freedom.
Source:
PAC, 1996, 68, 149
(A glossary of terms used in chemical kinetics, including reaction dynamics (IUPAC
Recommendations 1996))
on page 185
Cite as:
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by
A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997).
XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic,
J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8.
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.
