Editing Chemistry (section)

===Reaction===
{{Main|Chemical reaction}}
[[File:VysokePece1.jpg|thumb|right|During chemical reactions, bonds between atoms break and form, resulting in different substances with different properties. In a blast furnace, iron oxide, a [[chemical compound|compound]], reacts with carbon monoxide to form iron, one of the [[chemical element]]s, and carbon dioxide.]]
When a chemical substance is transformed as a result of its interaction with another substance or with energy, a chemical reaction is said to have occurred. A ''chemical reaction'' is therefore a concept related to the "reaction" of a substance when it comes in close contact with another, whether as a mixture or a [[Solution (chemistry)|solution]]; exposure to some form of energy, or both. It results in some energy exchange between the constituents of the reaction as well as with the system environment, which may be designed vessels—often [[laboratory glassware]].

Chemical reactions can result in the formation or [[dissociation (chemistry)|dissociation]] of molecules, that is, molecules breaking apart to form two or more molecules or rearrangement of atoms within or across molecules. Chemical reactions usually involve the making or breaking of chemical bonds. [[Redox|Oxidation, reduction]], [[dissociation (chemistry)|dissociation]], acid–base [[neutralization (chemistry)|neutralization]] and molecular [[rearrangement reaction|rearrangement]] are some examples of common chemical reactions.

A chemical reaction can be symbolically depicted through a [[chemical equation]]. While in a non-nuclear chemical reaction the number and kind of atoms on both sides of the equation are equal, for a nuclear reaction this holds true only for the nuclear particles viz. protons and neutrons.<ref>[http://goldbook.iupac.org/C01034.html Chemical Reaction Equation], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012013002/http://goldbook.iupac.org/C01034.html|date=12 October 2007}}, IUPAC Goldbook.</ref>

The sequence of steps in which the reorganization of chemical bonds may be taking place in the course of a chemical reaction is called its [[Reaction mechanism|mechanism]]. A chemical reaction can be envisioned to take place in a number of steps, each of which may have a different speed. Many [[reaction intermediates]] with variable stability can thus be envisaged during the course of a reaction. Reaction mechanisms are proposed to explain the [[chemical kinetics|kinetics]] and the relative product mix of a reaction. Many [[chemists|physical chemists]] specialize in exploring and proposing the mechanisms of various chemical reactions. Several empirical rules, like the [[Woodward–Hoffmann rules]] often come in handy while proposing a mechanism for a chemical reaction.

According to the [[IUPAC]] gold book, a chemical reaction is "a process that results in the interconversion of chemical species."<ref>[[Gold Book]] [http://goldbook.iupac.org/C01033.html Chemical Reaction], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304035235/http://goldbook.iupac.org/C01033.html|date=4 March 2007}}, IUPAC Goldbook.</ref> Accordingly, a chemical reaction may be an [[elementary reaction]] or a [[stepwise reaction]]. An additional caveat is made, in that this definition includes cases where the [[Conformational isomerism|interconversion of conformers]] is experimentally observable. Such detectable chemical reactions normally involve sets of molecular entities as indicated by this definition, but it is often conceptually convenient to use the term also for changes involving single molecular entities (i.e. 'microscopic chemical events').