the.com/reaction
matter rearranging itself, sometimes politely, sometimes with a deafening apology to the room
means a response to something — whether a chemical change, a physical force, an emotional reflex, or a political pushback against progress.
from From Latin 're-' (back, again) plus 'actio' (a doing, a driving), built on 'agere,' to do or set in motion — a cousin of words like 'agent' and 'act.' So a reaction is literally a 'doing-back,' a response shoved into motion by something that moved first. The word entered English through scientific and philosophical Latin, and only later did it acquire its political sting, where a 'reactionary' is someone driving the world backward against the push of change.
- speed limit
- some finish in femtoseconds, faster than light crosses a hair
- hidden tax
- every reaction either eats heat or spits it out
- chain effect
- one neutron can trigger billions in a heartbeat
- reverse gear
- most reactions secretly run backward at the same time
- human version
- fastest reflex arc skips the brain entirely
thermite reaction — exothermic chemical reaction between aluminum and iron oxide, reaches 2500°c
antigen-antibody reaction — immune system response that produces visible precipitation in blood serum tests