With experiments backed up by computation, scientists for the first time observe the molecule-by-molecule transformations of a molecular chain-reaction
Free radicals can cause explosions. This is not only a socio-political statement (and theme of a Dostoevsky novel), but also a chemical phenomenon. “Flames and explosions that occur, usually in the gas phase, involve what are known as ’free radical chain reactions,’” explains John Yates, now a chemistry professor at the University of Virginia, “a class of reactions that's been known for maybe 90 years.”