Origination scientific importance

The synthesis of ammonia from its elements ranks as one of the most important discoveries in the history of the science of catalysis, not only because of its industrial application in which synthetic fertilizers have contributed enormously to the survival of mankind, but also from the viewpoint of fundamental science. Even today, some eighty years after the first demonstration of ammonia synthesis, many original scientific papers on the mechanism of the catalytic synthesis of ammonia are still published. Every time a new method, technique, or concept has appeared in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, it has been applied to this reaction. Specific examples of these applications over the years include the concepts of gas equilibrium, activated adsorption, structure sensitivitystoichiometric number and kinetic studies, " nonuniform surfaces, the measurements of surface area, surface composition and promoter distributions, and the use of isotopic and spectroscopic techniques. In particular, various surface science techniques have been applied successfully to this reaction system over well-defined single crystal surfaces in recent years. In this way the effect of promoters on the iron catalyst has been elucidated. Accordingly, the history of ammonia synthesis parallels not only that of industrial catalysis, but also the development of the science of catalysis. 

Our series is not intended to compete with the pubhcations of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. 

All new information on chemical matters or original presentations and discussions of known material are published in scientific journals. The most important of these dealing with organic compounds are (the abbreviated names are given in parentheses) ... 

We will attempt to address a number of these phenomena in terms of their micromechanical origins, and to give the essential quantitative ideas that connect the macroscale (continuum description) with the microscale. We also will discuss the importance of direct observations, wherever possible, in establishing uniqueness of scientific interpretation. 

The only feasible procedure at the moment is molecular dynamics computer simulation, which can be used since most systems are currently essentially controlled by classical dynamics even though the intermolecular potentials are often quantum mechanical in origin. There are indeed many intermolecular potentials available which are remarkably reliable for most liquids, and even for liquid mixtures, of scientific and technical importance. However potentials for the design of membranes and of the interaction of fluid molecules with membranes on the atomic scale are less well developed. 

The scientific and technical corrosion literature has descriptions and lists of numerous chemical compounds that exhibit inhibiting properties. Of these only a very few are ever actually used in practical systems. This is partly due to the fact that in practice the desirable properties of an inhibitor usually extend beyond those simply relating to metal protection. Thus cost, toxicity, availability, etc. are of considerable importance as well as other more technical aspects (see Principles). Also, as in many other fields of scientific development, there is often a considerable time lag between laboratory development and practical application. In the field of inhibition the most notable example of this gap between discovery and application is the case of sodium nitrite. Originally reported in 1899 to have inhibitive properties, it remained effectively unnoticed until the 1940s it is now one of the most widely employed inhibitors. 

An important class of materials that originates from the precursor core-shell particles is hollow capsules. Hollow capsules (or shells ) can be routinely produced upon removal of the core material using chemical and physical methods. Much of the research conducted in the production of uniform-size hollow capsules arises from their scientific and technological interest. Hollow capsules are widely utilized for the encapsulation and controlled release of various substances (e.g., drugs, cosmetics, dyes, and inks), in catalysis and acoustic insulation, in the development of piezoelectric transducers and low-dielectric-constant materials, and for the manufacture of advanced materials [14],... 

It is important to realize that the process of dimensional analysis only replaces the set of original (dimensional) variables with an equivalent (smaller) set of dimensionless variables (i.e., the dimensionless groups). It does not tell how these variables are related—the relationship must be determined either theoretically by application of basic scientific principles or empirically by measurements and data analysis. However, dimensional analysis is a very powerful tool in that it can rovide a direct guide for... 

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