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Enthalpy (/ ˈ ɛ n θ əl p i / ⓘ) is the sum of a thermodynamic system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. [1] It is a state function in thermodynamics used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant external pressure, which is conveniently provided by the large ambient atmosphere.
Hess's law states that the change of enthalpy in a chemical reaction is the same regardless of whether the reaction takes place in one step or several steps, provided the initial and final states of the reactants and products are the same. Enthalpy is an extensive property, meaning that its value is proportional to the system size. [4]
Research concerning the relationship between the thermodynamic quantity entropy and both the origin and evolution of life began around the turn of the 20th century. In 1910 American historian Henry Adams printed and distributed to university libraries and history professors the small volume A Letter to American Teachers of History proposing a theory of history based on the second law of ...
A prime example of this irreversibility is the transfer of heat by conduction or radiation. It was known long before the discovery of the notion of entropy that when two bodies, initially of different temperatures, come into direct thermal connection, then heat immediately and spontaneously flows from the hotter body to the colder one.
Example of an enzyme-catalysed exothermic reaction The relationship between activation energy and enthalpy of reaction (ΔH) with and without a catalyst, plotted against the reaction coordinate. The highest energy position (peak position) represents the transition state.
Enthalpy and isochoric specific heat capacity are very useful mathematical constructs, since when analyzing a process in an open system, the situation of zero work occurs when the fluid flows at constant pressure. In an open system, enthalpy is the quantity which is useful to use to keep track of energy content of the fluid.
Whether a process can occur spontaneously depends not only on the enthalpy change but also on the entropy change (∆S) and absolute temperature T.If a process is a spontaneous process at a certain temperature, the products have a lower Gibbs free energy G = H – TS than the reactants (an exergonic process), [2] even if the enthalpy of the products is higher.
Examples of intensive properties include temperature, T; refractive index, n; density, ρ; and hardness, η. By contrast, an extensive property or extensive quantity is one whose magnitude is additive for subsystems. [4] Examples include mass, volume and entropy. [5] Not all properties of matter fall into these two categories.