Hydrogen Ion Equilibria in Native and

Hydrogen Ion Equilibria in Native and Denatured Proteins Jacinto Steinharot and Ethel M. Zaiser... 

Tanford, C. Preparation and Properties of Serum and Plasma Proteins. XXIII. Hydrogen Ion Equilibria in Native and Modified Human Serum Albumin. J. Amer. chem. Soc. 72, 441—451 (1950). 

One could go on with examples such as the use of a shirt rather than sand reduce the silt content of drinking water or the use of a net to separate fish from their native waters. Rather than that perhaps we should rely on the definition of a chemical equilibrium and its presence or absence. Chemical equilibria are dynamic with only the illusion of static state. Acetic acid dissociates in water to acetate-ion and hydrated hydrogen ion. At any instant, however, there is an acid molecule formed by recombination of acid anion and a proton cation while another acid molecule dissociates. The equilibrium constant is based on a dynamic process. Ordinary filtration is not an equilibrium process nor is it the case of crystals plucked from under a microscope into a waiting vial. 

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