Activation energy
Activation Energy
Activation energy (Pronunciation: ak-ti-va-shun en-er-gee), in Chemistry, is the minimum quantity of energy that the reacting species must possess in order to undergo a specified reaction.
Etymology
The term "Activation Energy" is derived from the Latin words "activus" meaning active and "energia" meaning operation or activity. It was first introduced by the Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius in 1889.
Definition
Activation energy can be defined as the energy barrier that must be overcome for a chemical reaction to occur. It is denoted by the symbol Ea and is measured in Joules (J) or Kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol).
Related Terms
- Arrhenius Equation: An equation that gives the dependence of the rate constant of a reaction on the absolute temperature, a pre-exponential factor, and the activation energy.
- Catalyst: A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction by lowering the activation energy.
- Reaction Rate: The speed at which a chemical reaction proceeds.
- Transition State: The state corresponding to the highest potential energy along the reaction path.
- Enzyme: A biological catalyst that lowers the activation energy of reactions in cells.
See Also
References
- Laidler, K. J. (1987). Chemical Kinetics (3rd ed.). Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-043862-2.
- Atkins, P.; de Paula, J. (2006). Physical Chemistry (8th ed.). W. H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-8759-8.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Activation energy
- Wikipedia's article - Activation energy
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