# gst: chemical waves exhibit fascinating patterns

<< Waves are known in many very different forms; as water waves, light waves or sound waves. But here we are dealing with something quite different - chemical waves >>

<< Typically, one imagines a chemical reaction like this: from specific initial reactants one obtains specific final products. But it does not need to be as simple as that. Self-sustaining oscillations may occur, i.e. periodic changes between two different states >>

<< On a polycrystalline surface, there are then different regions in which the cyclical process occurs at different frequencies. It is precisely this effect that creates those fascinating wave patterns. When a chemical wave moves across the surface and passes from the edge of one grain of crystal to another, it speeds up or slows down, similar to light passing from the air to water.  This changes the complex spiral wave structures according to the particular orientation of the grain surface >>

Vienna University of Technology. Chemical waves guide to catalysts of the future. Feb 20, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-02-chemical-catalysts-future.html

Yuri Suchorski, Martin Datler, et al. Visualizing catalyst heterogeneity by a multifrequential oscillating reaction. Nature Communication. 2018; 9 (600). doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03007-3. Feb 9,  2018.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03007-3