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The reaction:   is extremely exothermic. According to this equation, the world's oceans should long ago become a gigantic reservoir of nitric acid. That they have not is a testament to the importance of reaction rate. Even though this reaction is very exothermic it proceeds extremely slowly. Much too slowly to be noticeable amongst all the other reactions that take place everyday in the atmosphere and in the worlds oceans. The fact that a reaction can proceed spontaneously does not mean that it will occur rapidly, and the study of these factors that influence the speed of a chemical reaction is called "reaction rates".

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