Table of Contents
Gibbs Free Energy
Gibbs free energy is a thermodynamic quantity that measures the maximum amount of work that can be extracted from a system at a given temperature. It is defined as the sum of the internal energy of the system, plus the product of the pressure and volume of the system. The Gibbs free energy is a measure of the system’s ability to do work, and it is always positive.
What is Gibbs Free Energy?
The Gibbs free energy (G) is a thermodynamic quantity that is a measure of the available energy in a system that can do useful work. The Gibbs free energy is equal to the internal energy of the system minus the product of the temperature and the entropy of the system. The Gibbs free energy is a state function, which means that it is determined only by the current state of the system and not by how the system got to that state.
History of Gibbs Free Energy
- Gibbs free energy is a thermodynamic quantity that is used to determine the feasibility of a process and the equilibrium constant for a reaction. It is defined as the energy available to do work in a system, and is equal to the sum of the internal energy of the system and the product of the pressure and volume of the system. The Gibbs free energy is a measure of the amount of energy that is available to do work in a system, and is a function of the temperature, pressure, and composition of the system.
- The Gibbs free energy was first introduced by Josiah Willard Gibbs in 1876. Gibbs used the concept of free energy to develop a theory of thermodynamics that explained the behavior of gases and fluids. The Gibbs free energy is also used in the analysis of chemical reactions and the determination of equilibrium constants.
Gibbs Energy Reactions
In chemistry, a Gibbs energy reaction is a chemical reaction in which the Gibbs energy of the system decreases. This can be due to the formation of new products that have a lower Gibbs energy than the reactants, or due to the release of energy in the form of heat or light.
How to Determine a Spontaneous Reaction?
A spontaneous reaction is a chemical reaction that occurs without the addition of any energy from an outside source. In order to determine whether or not a reaction is spontaneous, you need to know the Gibbs free energy of the reaction. If the Gibbs free energy is negative, the reaction is spontaneous.
Spontaneity and Gibbs Free Energy
- A spontaneous process is one in which the system moves from a higher-energy to a lower-energy state without any outside intervention. Spontaneity is determined by the Gibbs free energy of the system. A process is more spontaneous if its Gibbs free energy is lower.
- The Gibbs free energy is a measure of the system’s ability to do work. It takes into account the system’s energy and its entropy. The entropy is a measure of the system’s disorder. A process is more spontaneous if its entropy increases.
- The Gibbs free energy is always negative in a spontaneous process. This is because the system is releasing energy in the form of heat. The entropy always increases in a spontaneous process. This is because the system is becoming more disorderly.
Remarks on Gibbs Free Energy
The Gibbs free energy is a thermodynamic potential that measures the maximum work that can be done by a system as it moves from one equilibrium state to another. The Gibbs free energy is always positive, and its value is always less than the total energy of the system. The Gibbs free energy is also a measure of the system’s entropy.
