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Why are singular atoms harmful?

Asked by mr_super123 over 2 years ago, 4 answers.

Why would a single oxygen atom be so devastating?
(example: bursting into flames if the atmosphere was filled with single oxygen atoms rather than oxygen molecules, etc.)

Answered by bubux007 on Mar 24, 2007, 06:14AM
1958 answers

Sorry, it is difficult to add an URL to this site, so search Google for
free radicals wikipedia
***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_%28chemistry%29

1 person thought this was helpful

Answered by bubux007 on Mar 24, 2007, 06:10AM
1958 answers

The singular oxygen atom is a so called free radical, and you can imagine its chemistry that is similar to that of the H2O2 (hydrogene-peroxide) known to be harmful since very oxidatve. If you are curious of the biology of the free radicals you may start from here:
****
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_(chemistry)

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Answered by layme on Apr 01, 2007, 05:41AM
44 answers

Remember that all atoms are striving to achieve the stability of noble gases i.e. an even numbered electron structure with (2 or 8 etc. electrons), and the quest for finding a like atom with which to bond uses lots of energy. Stability in gases happens when the atoms come together and a certain sense form a covalent (as opposed to an ionic) bond. Hope this is not too technical for you