  A particular type of surface chemical reaction resulted in direct charge
ejection. Several different experimental observations strongly support the
hypothesis that nearly all of the molecular kinetic energy of a highly excited
vibrating molecule was transferred to the kinetic energy of a single electron
in a conducting lattice, leaving the molecule in nearly its ground state. This
kinetic energy transfer represents the counterpart to the potential energy
transfer in a battery, where electrochemical potential energy of reactants is
transferred to the electrical potential energy of a separated charge. Here
chemical reaction energy is transferred directly to the kinetic energy of a
charge instead of to the potential energy of a charge. These observations
indicate a breakdown of the Born Oppenheimer approximation.
