The Radiochemical Synthesis and Decomposition of Hydrogen Bromide

A theory is developed for the radiochemical synthesis and decomposition of hydrogen bromide which makes use of experimentally known processes of ionization, the known rates of a few simple chemical reactions, and the extensive experimental results of Lind and Livingston. The analysis indicates that in pure hydrogen gas, six hydrogen atoms are formed per ion pair; in pure hydrogen bromide, six hydrogen bromide molecules would be decomposed; and in equal mixtures of Br2 and HBr the chance that an electron will form negative ions with HBr (HBr +ε→H+Br—) is greater than with Br2.