| Abstrakt: |
The sciences of matter embrace a number of disciplines closely concerning the world around us. Since our world is subject to continuous change, virtually every new undertaking or insight invites to a revised approach, beginning with the simplest chemical changes in homogeneous solutions. Mathematical models usually resort to stochastic processes to deal with chemical conversions taking intermediates and branched reactions into account. The main mathematical problem lies in meaningfully linearizing the equations ruling the reactions. However, catalysis, electro-, and photochemistry can lend themselves to outperformance with respect to changes occurring in the near-linear range. Dealing with the problem of increasing reaction or power yield beyond the linear regime lies outside thermodynamics, at least inasmuch as it becomes a nonlinear problem, that can only be solved in a small region around a given operating point. We expect a significant increase of the yield of a process above the value established by the energy conservation principle to break thermodynamics. Predictive models using probability theory, too, cease to be valid beyond the linear range, so that mechanical statistical methods aren't so good. Finally, computational modeling of selective and specific processes by a systematic refinement that includes each property of the phenomenon is prohibitively complicated. As an alternative, signal reception techniques could be employed to monitor signals associated to those processes, and possibly to control the latter. While processes are highly nonlinear, if a linear signal response can be adjusted to fit the produced change in yield, the process at stake can be followed experimentally, and modeled by suitably parametrizing the linear response. Mathematical models of the signal changes can assist more general insights and heuristic guesses. Faraday's investigations on electrolysis can be viewed as a first failed effort in this direction. On the one hand, in Faraday's time circuit design was not as advanced as today, and on the other, his approach lends itself to open a more general avenue in the understanding of selective and specific processes. Hence, I try and put the discovery of electrolysis in context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
