3. Bridging matter

2014 ◽  
pp. 38-50
Author(s):  
Peter Atkins
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Reaction ◽  
Statistical Thermodynamics ◽  
Boltzmann Distribution ◽  
Bulk Properties ◽  
Atoms And Molecules ◽  
Average Behaviour

‘Bridging matter’ introduces statistical thermodynamics, which provides the link between the notional insides and outsides of atoms and molecules. It identifies the bulk properties of a sample with the average behaviour of all the molecules that constitute it. A key concept is the Boltzmann distribution, which shows the exponentially decaying function of the energy of molecules as temperature is increased. It captures two aspects of chemistry: stability and reactivity. Statistical thermodynamics is used by physical chemists to understand the composition of chemical reaction mixtures that have reached equilibrium. It also provides an explanation of Le Chatelier's principle, which states that a system at equilibrium responds to a disturbance by tending to oppose its effect.

Directional observation on lipid of male nectary of Lindera megaphylla hemsl. by the rapid embedding method with polyethylene glycol (PEG)

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 718-719
Author(s):  
Dai Dalin ◽  
Guo Jianmin
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Polyethylene Glycol ◽  
Chemical Reaction ◽  
Traditional Method ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Unsaturated Lipid ◽  
Embedding Method ◽  
Long Period ◽  
New Methods

Lipid cytochemistry has not yet advanced far at the EM level. A major problem has been the loss of lipid during dehydration and embedding. Although the adoption of glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide accelerate the chemical reaction of lipid and osmium tetroxide can react on the double bouds of unsaturated lipid to from the osmium black, osmium tetroxide can be reduced in saturated lipid and subsequently some of unsaturated lipid are lost during dehydration. In order to reduce the loss of lipid by traditional method, some researchers adopted a few new methods, such as the change of embedding procedure and the adoption of new embedding media, to solve the problem. In a sense, these new methods are effective. They, however, usually require a long period of preparation. In this paper, we do research on the fiora nectary strucure of lauraceae by the rapid-embedding method wwith PEG under electron microscope and attempt to find a better method to solve the problem mentioned above.

Equilibrium and Non-Equilibrium Statistical Thermodynamics

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Le Bellac ◽  
Fabrice Mortessagne ◽  
G. George Batrouni
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Thermodynamics ◽  
Non Equilibrium
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