Crossed Beam Studies of Prototype Insertion Reactions: C(1D)+H2 and N(2D) + H2

Product angular and velocity distributions have been obtained in crossed beam experiments for the two prototype insertion reactions C(1D)+H2 and N(2D)+H2. The experimental results are compared with state‐of‐the‐art quantum scattering calculations on recent accurate potential energy surfaces. The comparison allows an assessment of the status of theory in describing insertion reactions.