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Related Concept Videos

Activation Energy01:26

Activation Energy

86.4K
Activation energy is the minimum amount of energy necessary for a chemical reaction to move forward. The higher the activation energy, the slower the rate of the reaction. However, adding heat to the reaction will increase the rate, since it causes molecules to move faster and increase the likelihood that molecules will collide. The collision and breaking of bonds represents the uphill phase of a reaction and generates the transition state. The transition state is an unstable high-energy state...
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Bond Dissociation Energy and Activation Energy02:13

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Bond energy is the energy required to break a bond homolytically. These values are usually expressed in units of kcal/mol or kJ/mol and are referred to as bond dissociation energies when given for specific bonds or average bond energies when indicated for a given type of bond over many compounds. Firstly, the bond dissociation energy for a single bond is weaker than that of a double bond, which in turn is weaker than that of a triple bond. Secondly, hydrogen forms relatively strong bonds with...
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Enzymes and Activation Energy01:13

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The activation energy (or free energy of activation), abbreviated as Ea, is the small amount of energy input necessary for all chemical reactions to occur. During chemical reactions, certain chemical bonds break, and new ones form. For example, when a glucose molecule breaks down, bonds between the molecule's carbon atoms break. Since these are energy-storing bonds, they release energy when broken. However, the molecule must be somewhat contorted to get into a state that allows the bonds to...
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What is Energy?04:10

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The universe is composed of matter in different forms, and all forms of matter contain energy.  The different forms of energy on Earth originate from the Sun — the ultimate energy source. Plants capture light energy from the Sun, and, via the process of photosynthesis, convert it into chemical energy. This stored energy from plants can be harnessed in many ways. For example, eating plant products as food provides energy for our body to function, and burning wood or coal (fossilized...
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Free Energy01:21

Free Energy

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Free energy—abbreviated as G for the scientist Gibbs who discovered it—is a measurement of useful energy that can be extracted from a reaction to do work. It is the energy in a chemical reaction that is available after entropy is accounted for. Reactions that take in energy are considered endergonic and reactions that release energy are exergonic. Plants carry out endergonic reactions by taking in sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce glucose and oxygen. Animals, in turn, break...
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Energy Basics02:27

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Chemical reactions, such as those that occur when you light a match, involve changes in energy as well as matter.
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Isolation of Physiologically Active Thylakoids and Their Use in Energy-Dependent Protein Transport Assays
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Activation Energies and Beyond.

Zeke A Piskulich1, Oluwaseun O Mesele1, Ward H Thompson1

  • 1Department of Chemistry , University of Kansas , Lawrence , Kansas 66045 , United States.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry. A
|June 29, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

New methods determine activation energy for dynamical processes using statistical mechanics, enabling analysis beyond traditional Arrhenius limitations and offering mechanistic insights for chemical reactions.

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Area of Science:

  • Statistical Mechanics
  • Chemical Dynamics

Background:

  • Traditional Arrhenius analysis is limited for certain dynamical processes.
  • Understanding activation energy is crucial for chemical reactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop new methods for calculating and interpreting activation energy.
  • To enable direct determination of activation energy across arbitrary timescales.
  • To provide mechanistic insights into chemical processes.

Main Methods:

  • Applying fluctuation theory of statistical mechanics to dynamics.
  • Simulations at a single temperature.
  • Decomposition of activation energy into system-specific contributions.

Main Results:

  • Direct determination of activation energy is possible for arbitrary dynamical time scales.
  • Analysis is feasible even when traditional Arrhenius analysis fails.
  • Activation energy can be rigorously decomposed into contributions from system interactions and motions.

Conclusions:

  • New approaches offer significant possibilities for understanding activated processes.
  • Methods provide mechanistic information for a broad range of chemical processes.
  • The approach can be extended to non-Arrhenius behavior and pressure-dependent dynamics.