Reaction Kinetics

Abstract

If spatial effects can be neglected, many systems in chemistry, biology, ecology, physics, and other areas can be described by rate equations, a set of ordinary differential equations. Systems may be homogeneous because the system is small enough and transport is efficient enough to eliminate spatial gradients. Or the spatial homogeneity may be imposed from the outside, for example by stirring in chemical reactors. In the following we collect some basic facts about rate equations and discuss various model schemes whose dynamics we investigate in later chapters.