Stationary-state hypothesis

{
  "id": "MLC-T-MET-010784",
  "term": "Stationary-state hypothesis",
  "field": "Meteorology and atmospheric science",
  "definition": "An assumption in chemical kinetics that a short-lived reactive intermediate is destroyed about as fast as it is formed, so its concentration stays nearly constant and its rate of change can be set to zero. It reduces coupled rate equations to algebraic ones. In atmospheric chemistry it is applied to radicals such as the hydroxyl radical, whose lifetime of about one second keeps its concentration tied to its instantaneous sources and sinks.",
  "synonyms": [
    "steady-state hypothesis"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/meteorology/stationary-state-hypothesis/"
}