20 years ago when I was an undergrad I was studying the effect of electric fields on the chemical vapor deposition growth of (material du jour). Electricity tu

20 years ago when I was an undergrad I was studying the effect of electric fields on the chemical vapor deposition growth of (material du jour). Electricity turned what was a natural, random process, into one where we could direct the growth this way and that way. We didn't measure whether the growth rate was enhanced, but it's not surprising to me that a similar effect might show up all over the place to help speed along a natural process, because at the boundary, progressive chemical reactions isn't like stacking legos, it's like adding some, then taking a few away, then adding some more, and so on.