Arrhenius plugin interface, showing the reaction-coordinate field, the TEMPERATURE dial, the KINETICS / CATALYSIS / THERMAL parameter groups, and the FROZEN / LIQUID / BOILING classification

Live · event density

14%FROZEN · 2 hits / bar

Temperature 0.30

k̂ measured 0.6 / s

This is the plugin's interface. The mechanism behind it: temperature climbs from frozen cyan to boiling ember, more attempts clear the barrier, and event density rises. The same rate law, k = A·exp(−E_a/T), ships in Arrhenius. For the full derivation, read the reaction-kinetics note.

01 · frozen

Skeletal

At low temperature only the hardest transients clear the barrier. A drum loop is two kick hits a bar.

02 · catalyze

Melt by band

Catalyst lowers the barrier per frequency; Affinity picks the end. Hats shimmer through the ice, or bass tunnels under it.

03 · ignite

Cascade

Exotherm feeds reaction heat back in. A rare first success seeds an avalanche, then cools when the input stops feeding it.

04 · boiling

Reconstructed

Sweep temperature up and the loop rebuilds energy-first, kick to snare to hats to ghosts, as high-energy collisions clear.

FROZENLIQUIDBOILING

What Arrhenius does differently.

It owns "how often," not "how much."

Compressors answer how much; Boltzmann answers which note. Arrhenius controls the stochastic temporal density of audio events, the third axis, by literal rate law: k = A·exp(−E_a/T).

Temperature has a sensitivity zone.

One octave of temperature moves event density by orders of magnitude, so the knob has a narrow throw where the signal transforms from skeletal to full. That zone is the product.

The randomness grooves.

Collision keys success to the signal's own per-band energy. Loud hits hop a barrier that quiet ones cannot. Kinetic control, not a threshold, so the gate fires with the music.

It heats itself.

Exotherm makes successful reactions raise the temperature, which breeds more reactions: induction periods, ignition cascades, and Newtonian cooling. The fuel is your signal, not an internal reservoir.

Hear it reconstruct.

Audio in production

Drum loop · the Frozen-to-Boiling sweep

One temperature sweep, energy-first reconstruction.

Capture in progress

Percussion · catalytic shimmer

Frozen body, catalyzed highs melt through first.

Capture in progress

Drums + bass · ignition

Loud hits light a density avalanche that cools between phrases.

Capture in progress

Audio demos are in production. Until they land, the reaction-coordinate field and the scroll-driven readout above are the live illustration.

What is in the box.

Kinetics engine

The rate law P = exp(−E_a/T) as stochastic gating across 8 Linkwitz-Riley bands. Temperature, Barrier, Rate; a synced or free attempt clock; Collision keys success to per-band signal energy.

Catalysis & thermal

Catalyst lowers the barrier per band, Affinity selects the end. Exotherm feeds reaction heat back for induction, ignition, and cooling; Inertia sets the thermal time constant.

Output & visualization

Floor, React, Width, Mix, auto Makeup, In/Out, fixed safety limiter. Live reaction-coordinate ridge and an interactive ln k vs 1/T Arrhenius plot with measured k̂.

Formats

macOS 11+ VST3, AU, Standalone. Windows 10+ VST3, Standalone. Apple Silicon and Intel native. 0-sample latency.