newly formed moiety: in the state of being born or just emerging), is an obsolete theory in chemistry.
Often encountered are atomic oxygen (Onasc), nascent hydrogen (Hnasc), and similar forms of chlorine (Clnasc) or bromine (Brnasc).
The concept of a "nascent state" was developed to explain the observation that gases generated in situ are frequently more reactive than identical chemicals that have been stored for an extended period of time.
[2] Constantine Zenghelis hypothesized in 1920 that the increased reactivity of the "nascent" state was due to the fine dispersion of the molecules, not their status as free atoms.
[3][2] Still popular in the early 20th century, the nascent state theory was recognized as declining by 1942.