Abstract
A theory is presented for the paramagnetic catalysis of ortho—para transitions in molecular hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium. The cause for reaction is taken to be an inhomogeneous magnetic field, orginating from a catalyst molecule and operative during the binary collisions of catalyst and reactant species. Formulas for the distorted wave approximation to the cross sections are presented, as are expressions for the specific rates of the associated thermal reactions. Exploratory calculations are performed for the oxygen catalyzed para (L=0)→ortho(L=1) transition in hydrogen. With the assumption of a hard-sphere interaction the rates calculated for 77.3° and for 86°K turn out to be only about 25% to 30% of the experimentally observed rates.
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