Abstract
For light elements like hydrogen or oxygen, species in chemical equilibrium generally have different isotopic compositions. In the last chapter, calculation of stable iso-tope fractionation will provide another illustration of the practical use of statistical mechanics. These calculations are made from basic spectroscopic data with the partition functions derived in the previous chapters. The quantum mechanical origin of isotope fractionation will be demonstrated and the importance of zero point energy emphasized. In conclusion to this book, the relevance of isotope fractionation theory to important environmental and cosmological problems will be pointed out.
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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Richet, P. (2001). Isotopic Equilibria. In: The Physical Basis of Thermodynamics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1237-0_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1237-0_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5455-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1237-0
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