Enzymes catalyze chemical reactions at rates that are astounding relative to uncatalyzed chemistry at the same reaction conditions. Each catalytic event requires a minimum of three or often more steps, all of which occur within the few milliseconds that characterize typical enzymatic reactions. According to transition state theory, the smallest fraction of the catalytic cycle is spent in the most important step, that of the transition state. The original proposals of absolute reaction rate theory for chemical reactions defined the transition state as a distinct species in the reaction coordinate that determined the absolute reaction rate. Soon thereafter, Linus Pauling proposed that the powerful catalytic action of enzymes could be explained by specific tight binding to the transition state species Because reaction rate is proportional to the fraction of the reactant in the transition state complex, the enzyme was proposed to increase the concentration of the reactive species.