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Nature 453, 735 (5 June 2008) | doi:10.1038/453735a; Published online 4 June 2008
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Faculty Position in Mathematical Biology
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- Ohio, USA
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- Alliance Institute of Advanced Pharmacy and Health Sciences
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Physical chemistry: Charge states in transition
Raffaele Resta1
Abstract
Transition metals come in different oxidation states with different electric charges. So at least we are told at school. Detailed calculations lead to a heretical conclusion — those variable charge states are a myth.
The idea of electric charge 'belonging' to a given atom or ion has been a central one ever since Michael Faraday, studying the use of electric current to decompose ionic compounds, published his laws of electrolysis in 1832. The charge that passes between two electrodes can be measured; it is always an integer multiple of the basic electronic charge; and it is proportional to the number of atoms exchanged.
- Raffaele Resta is in the Dipartimento di Fisica Teorica, Università di Trieste, strada Costiera 11, 34014 Trieste, Italy.
Email: resta@democritos.it
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RESEARCH
Charge self-regulation upon changing the oxidation state of transition metals in insulatorsNature Letters to Editor (05 Jun 2008)

