Strangeness plays an important role in the study of quark matter since it indicates the rate at which new particles are being produced and therefore provides information about the degree of chemical equilibration reached in heavy ion collisions. It is shown that ratios provide an excellent method for determining the temperature and the chemical potential since many theoretical uncertainties can...

The structural change between the random-coil and the double-helix of an ethynylhelicene (M)-nonamer during heating crosses equilibrium. This is a phenomenon where a chemical reaction crosses equilibrium and returns to equilibrium. It is due to an accelerated rate of formation of the double-helix by self-catalysis and an equilibrium shift.