Chemical reaction

"The opportunity of dedicating one’s intellectual imagination to complex problems, many of which are apt to serve the needs of a growingly needful society, must be seen as a great privilege. The means for codifying information, which is central in this regard, while rewarding the initiators (even posthumously) of what becomes a Name Reaction retains its special cultural status in assisting the forward march of our science. Name Reaction assignments have about them a significant element of intellectual history. However (and needless to say), the tracing back of all the antecedents of an idea is actually an endless process. What Name Reactions are really about is an agreed upon vocabulary,by convention, for communicating concepts in concise but human terms, befitting one of the most esthetics-intensive of scientific activities, that is, organic synthesis."

"The simplest chemical reactions may be described as equilibration between two distinct species. Such processes are governed by two fundamental considerations: 1. Chemical thermodynamics, … 2. Chemical kinetics, ..."

"In many cases, equilibrium lies extensively (say, more than 99.9%) on the side of the products. When this occurs, the reaction is said to go to completion."

"All reactions are described by equilibrating the concentrations of starting materials and products. On which side the equilibrium lies depends on the size of the equilibrium constant, which in turn is related to the Gibbs free energy changes ..."