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To: r9etb
"I won't get into a chemistry pissing contest with you ... but I really don't think you can say that catalysts are "chemically reactive" in the same way that, say, sodium or chlorine are."

You'd lose. I "am" a chemist. And any chemist will tell you that platinum is darned well HIGHLY reactive. The mechanism of that reacticity depends on the specific reactions it takes part in---but it DOES participate in the reactions, and it sometimes changes electron states exactly as does sodium and/or chlorine--the key difference is that at the end of the sequence of reactions, it regains it's original electron state.

15 posted on 01/09/2008 7:30:44 AM PST by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel-NRA)
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To: Wonder Warthog
You'd lose. I "am" a chemist.

I know -- which is why I wanted to avoid the contest. But to dribble on my shoes a bit, what you've described confirms that platinum really is a different kind of beast in these reactions.

And anyway, once again, I don't think the fellow is really talking about chemical reactions in his solar cells.

17 posted on 01/09/2008 7:49:21 AM PST by r9etb
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