Page 84 - MODERN ELECTROCHEMISTRY

28 CHAPTER 1

decay of metallic structures. The examples of alternative thermal and electrical
approaches to common chemical events given in Table 1.1 may illustrate this.

1.12.2. The Relation between Three Major Advances in Science, and
the Place of Electrochemistry in the Developing World

If one stands sufficiently removed from one’s specialization in the sciences and
looks as far back as the nineteenth century, then three great scientific contributions
stand out as measured by their impact on science and technology. They are
1. The electromagnetic theory of light due to Maxwell (nineteenth century)
2. The theory of relativistic mechanics due to Einstein (nineteenth century)
3. The theory of quantum mechanics originating with the work of Planck,
Einstein, and Bohr and developed by Schrödinger, Heisenberg, Born, and
Dirac (twentieth century)

It is important to recall why these contributions to physics and chemistry are
regarded as so outstanding. Maxwell’s theory provides the basis for the transfer of
energy and communication across distances and the delivery of mechanical power on
command as a consequence of the controlled application of electric currents causing
magnetic fields. The significance of relativistic mechanics is that it helps us understand
the universe around us—great bodies, far away, traveling very fast. Quantum mechan-
ics is the basis of solid-state devices and transistor technology. It led to a revolution
in thinking; for example, we now know that macroscopic and microscopic systems
behave in fundamentally different ways. It allows us to understand how small particles
can penetrate barriers otherwise insurmountable (a realization that helps us understand
the functioning of fuel cells). A fourth contribution, the discovery of over unity
processes—machines that seem to produce more energy than was put in—hold
promise for great advances. However, this work is still in a very early stage and we
cannot yet gauge its technological significance. 11
How is the eventual magnitude of a contribution in science weighed? Is it not the
degree to which the applications that arise from it eventually change everyday life? Is
not the essence of our present civilization the attempt to control our surroundings?
It is in this light that one may judge the significance of the theory of electrified
interfaces and thus electrochemistry. It is of interest to note how interfacial charge-
transfer theories are based on a combination of the electric currents of Maxwell’s
theory and the quantum-mechanical tunneling of electrons through energy barriers.

11
Over-unity machines are claimed by their inventors to be emerging, as seen in the late 1990s. Their
mechanisms are far from clear as yet. They seem to involve nuclear reactions under very low temperature
situations, or alternatively, they are machines that are claimed to convert the zero point energy of their
surroundings to electricity. If (as seems likely) they become commercialized in the early decades of the
new century, the cost of electricity will fall and a great augmentation of the electrical side of chemistry
will occur.