Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement definition

Core electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) is perhaps the most definitive technique applied to the differentiation between nonclassical carbocations from equilibrating classical species. The time scale of the measured ionization process is of the order of 10 16 s so that definite species are characterized, regardless of (much slower) intra- and intermolecular exchange reactions—for example, hydride shifts, Wagner-Meerwein rearrangements, proton exchange, and so on. 

Since in electron spectroscopy the time scale of the measured ionization processes is on the order of 10 16 sec, definite ionic species are characterized, regardless on their possible intra- and intermolecular interactions (e. g., Wagner-Meerwein rearrangements, hydride shifts, proton exchange, etc.). Thus, electron spectroscopy gives an undisputible, direct answer to the long debated question of the non-classical nature of the norbornyl cation independent of any possible equilibration process. 

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