Transition from Low to High Iodide and Iodine Concentration States in the Briggs-Rauscher Reaction: Evidence on Crazy Clock Behavior

The Briggs-Rauscher reaction containing malonic acid may undergo a sudden transition from low (state I) to high iodide and iodine (state concentration states after a well-defined and strongly reproducible oscillatory period. This study clearly shows that even though the time-dependent behavior of the oscillatory state is reproducible, the time lag necessary for the appearance of the state I to state II transition after the system leaves the oscillatory state becomes irreproducible for an individual kinetic run. This crazy clock behavior of the state I to state II transition is identified by repeated experiments in which stirring rate is taken as a control parameter and all other parameters such as initial conditions, temperature, vessel surface, and the age of solution were kept constant. Surprisingly, a better stirring condition does not make the transition reproducible; it simply does not allow the transition to happen at all. The proposed mechanism, additional explanations, and proposals for this irreproducibility of state II been presented. Considering the fact that the number of crazy clock reactions is only a few, this study may contribute to a better understanding of fundaments of this phenomenon.