Before I get into this post, I’d first like to ask any wiseguys out there to please not hurt me. Thanks. My wife, daughter and dog all appreciate that. I hope.

I was talking with one of my colleagues yesterday about catalysts. The general chemistry students have been studying the temperature dependence of reaction rates [1],which lead into catalysis. One of the students was really bothered by the collision factor.  I’m not sure why, because I really like collisions, unless I am personally involved, in which case I am generally opposed to them.

Ok, so you’re getting bored.  I can tell.  Cut to the chase.  For reactions to occur, molecules must collide.  For a collision to lead to a reaction, it must have enough energy (the activation energy, or the famous Ea) and the collision must be a “good” collision.  That is, the collision must be one that leads to forming the correct transition state.

Ok, so wait a minute, what does this have to do with wiseguys and catalysis?  Allow me to enlighten you [2].  In a naive picture, catalysts do two things – they lower Ea, and they make the collisions that occur more effective.  The later part is very much like wiseguys.  If you have watched as many movies as I have [3], you know that no wiseguy ever goes after anyone alone.  They take their

pals with them.  Why?  Because, if you have to break some kneecaps, you want to make sure you do it efficiently.  No use chasing someone around – you might miss and hit something else.  So, you have your pals hold the guy, and bash while you bash his kneecaps.

See, that’s what a catalyst does.  It holds the molecules in place and makes collisions more effective [4].  And that, gentle reader is why catalysts are like wiseguys.  Goodnight, and good luck.

[1] Yes, this is a link to an article on Wikipedia. Not everything there is wrong. Oh yeah, I learned about references and footnotes in blog quotes from ψ*ψ and eximer at Carbon Based Curiosities. Blame them.

[2] Made you look!

[3]  My all-time favorite wiseguy type movie is Goodfellas.

[4]  This analogy is not good for everything.  Your mileage may vary.