Oxygen, Free Radicals, Shock and Trauma

Abstract

In atoms and molecules, the electrons generate, by rotation, a magnetic field represented by a vector, the spin. Generally, all the electrons are paired, opposing their spins, the resulting magnetic field being null. In molecules, electrons of neighbouring atoms are paired, forming covalent bonds, which can be broken by a sufficient amount of energy; after this rupture, two electrons become unpaired and the implicated atoms or molecules acquire a magnetic field (Fig. 1). The energy can be furnished by radiations (UV, ionizing radiations) and by chemical or enzymatic reactions. Such atoms or molecules presenting an odd number of electrons, and thus a magnetic field, are called free radicals.