In reply to Horace Heffner's message of Fri, 5 Dec 2008 03:49:22 -0900: Hi, [snip] >Say, it may be that CH gas is being momentarily created in the >process. [snip] CH is a radical, and would not likely have a long life. Consequently it is far more likely that the experiment itself, at most, somewhat chemically rearranged the phenanthrene molecule. It would be the bombardment of that product by the fast ions in the MS itself that would break it up and create CH+ radicals.
Don't forget that the analysis was outsourced. IOW the product of the reaction (presumably a black solid resembling soot) was sent offsite to be analyzed, implying a likely time between production and analysis of days at least. Far too long for a radical to continue to exist. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
