ABSTRACT
It was stated in Chapter 1 that theoretical justification for rate laws of the power-law form as applied to elementary steps could be provided. Our present purpose is to provide this justification in terms of several theories in sufficient detail to permit a basic comprehension of the origins and limitations of rate laws. Since we are not attempting a treatise on chemical kinetics, the presentation is selective, with much of the material relating specifically to reactions in the gaseous phase. The discussion is based on the fundamentals of the kinetic theory of gases with extensions to the transition-state theory of reaction rates. We shall follow the procedure of building a simple theory, criticizing it, building an improved theory, criticizing that, and so on —eventually reaching some reasonable level of theoretical background for ultimate engineering application.
