Influence of low-intensity electromagnetic field on autooscillations of concentration in belousov-zhabotinskii reaction

A study has been made of the influence of an electromagnetic field (EMGF) with a frequency in the 40–60 GHz range and intensity up to 4–8 mW on autowaves of concentration in the reaction of sodium bromate (0.3 M), malonic acid (0.2 M), sulfuric acid (0.45 M), and Ferroin (0.003 M). It has been found that the action of the EMGF leads to decreases in the wavelength by amounts up to 26%. The experimentally measured temperature gradient created by the EMGF in a thin layer of the reaction mixture is no greater than 0.4°K. The value calculated for the solution temperature rise that is required to create the experimentally observed decrease in wavelength is 5–6° K. It is concluded, therefore, that the observed effect cannot be explained solely by thermal action of the EMGF through heating the reaction mixture.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 25, No. 6, pp. 704–709, November–December, 1989.