*in ‘chemistry’, a (free) radical is an (‘atom’ / ‘molecule’ / ‘ion’) that has ‘unpaired valence electrons’*
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(with some exceptions, these ‘unpaired electrons’ make ‘free radicals’ highly chemically reactive towards other substances (or even towards themselves))
(their molecules will often spontaneously ‘dimerize’ or ‘polymerize’ if they come in contact with each other)
(most ‘radicals’ are reasonably stable only at very low ‘concentrations’ in ‘inert media’ or in a ‘vacuum’)
(a notable example of a ‘free radical’ is the ‘hydroxyl radical’ (HO•), a molecule that has ‘1 unpaired electron’ on the ‘oxygen atom’)
(2 other examples are ‘triplet oxygen + “triplet carbene” (:CH2) which have ‘2 unpaired electrons’)
(in contrast, the “hydroxyl anion” (HO−) is not a ‘radical’, since the unpaired electron is resolved by the addition of an ‘electron’)
(‘singlet oxygen’ + ‘singlet carbene’ are not ‘radicals’
(as the 2 electrons are paired)
(“free radicals” may be created in a number of ways, including synthesis with very dilute or rarefied “reagents”, reactions at very low temperatures, or breakup of larger molecules)
(the latter can be affected by any process that puts enough energy into the “parent molecule”, such as “ionizing radiation”, “heat”, “electrical discharges”, “electrolysis”, and “chemical reactions”)
(indeed, “radicals” are intermediate stages in many “chemical reactions”)
(“free radicals” play an important role in “combustion”, “atmospheric chemistry”, “polymerization”, “plasma chemistry”, “biochemistry”, and many other “chemical processes”)
(in living organisms, the free radicals “superoxide” and “nitric oxide” and their reaction products regulate many processes, such as control of “vascular tone” and thus “blood pressure”)
(they also play a key role in the “intermediary metabolism” of various biological compounds)
(such “radicals” can even be messengers in a process dubbed “redox signaling”)
(a “radical” may be trapped within a solvent cage or be otherwise bound)
(until late in the 20th century the word “radical” was used in chemistry to indicate any connected group of atoms, such as a “methyl group” or a “carboxyl”, whether it was part of a larger molecule or a molecule on its own)
(the qualifier “free” was then needed to specify the unbound case)
(following recent nomenclature revisions, a part of a larger molecule is now called a “functional group” or “substituent”, and “radical” now implies “free”)
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(however, the old nomenclature may still appear in the ‘books’)
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*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥