Resolving an Experimental Paradox in Open Spatial Reactors: The Role of Spatial Bistability

Abstract

The interpretation of numerous experiments on spatial and spatiotemporal nonequilibrium chemical patterns performed in continuous gel reactors fed from one side leads to an apparent paradox. We show that this paradox can be resolved with the concept of spatial bistability. We illustrate this theory by numerical simulations with a model related to the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction.