LIQUID-PHASE CHEMICAL-REACTIONS, THE PATHWAYS FOR IMPORTANT RARE EVENTS

Chemical dynamics is the dynamics associated with the chemical rearrangements of atoms to form products from reactants. Such processes are infrequent but the important ones to understand are the kinetics of chemistry. Transition state theory provides a classical perspective with which one may focus on these rare but important events. Through two examples, this paper describes some of what can be learned with this perspective and its dynamical and quantum-mechanical generalizations.