How much may the equilibrium be shifted in a chemical relaxation experiment?
Abstract
A simple method for determining the largest permitted displacement of an equilibrium in a chemical relaxation experiment is described. The rate equation can always be put in the form – 1. This condition is generally satisfied, whatever the equilibrium, whenever the displacement of the equilibrium is small compared to the equilibrium concentrations. However, in many cases, the above condition is also fulfilled even if the shift in the equilibrium is large (low r values). The case of the dimerization reaction 2A ⇌ A2 is considered in detail.