APPLICATIONS OF THE THEORY OF ABSOLUTE REACTION RATES TO THE DETERMINATION OF THE DIFFUSION CHARACTERISTICS OF ARGON

Abstract

Diffusion and reactions involving the breakdown of formation of chemical compounds are closely similar in their kinetics. The main idea of the theory of absolute reaction rates is presented. The theory is in satisfactory agreement with measurements. For the minerals studied, as suggested by the theory, we obtain very low values (sometimes negative) of the activation energy and high values of the free energies, which is the reason for the low rates of diffusion of argon from minerals. Thus, when applied to the diffusion of radiogenic argon, the theory of absolute reaction rates can provide valuable information for the interpretation of absolute ages.