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On The Existence of Nonunique Equilibrium States
Marcel Maeder1, Zahra Rasouli2, Yousef Azizi3
1Department of Chemistry, University of Newcastle, Newcastle NSW 2308, Australia.
Abstract:
Chemists "know" that the equilibrium position in a homogeneous solution is unique and that the one equilibrium is reached, irrespective of how the solution was prepared. This concept has been verified based on the law of mass action applied to concentrations rather than activities. In this contribution, we explore the situation for a very basic equilibrium system, using established approximations for the activity coefficients. We will demonstrate that under the correct application of the law of mass action, bistable equilibria positions are possible, concomitant, of course, with bifurcation in the kinetics of reaching either of the stable equilibria.
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