kinetic and thermodynamic stability

Thermodynamically, Hydrogen peroxide is unstable as is shown by the following equation:..

At normal temperature, fuels are stable even in the presence of air. This is because, the activation energy of combustion reaction is high. When a mixture of fuel and air is burned, a flame has to be applied, that is the mixture has to be ignited. Near the flame, the contents are raised to hi..

The First Law of Thermodynamics - We have seen that heat is just a form of energy. A system can be given energy either by supplying heat to it (by placing it in contact with a hotter object) or by doing mechanical work on it. Consider an ideal gas in a cylindrical container, fitted with a..

Introduction - Processes by which substances are transformed to one or several products are called chemical reactions. Chemical processes that occur in the presence of light, like sunlight, are called photochemical reactions. These processes can occur naturally or under controlled conditions in the..

Introduction - Heat is a form of energy. Heat energy is also called thermal energy. When heat is given to a body, its temperature increases and when heat is removed from a body, its temperature decreases. Heat is a measurable quantity. The measurement of the quantity of heat is called calorimetry. ..

Experimental evidence suggests strongly that it is impossible to build a heat engine that converts heat completely to work (an engine with 100% thermal efficiency). This impossibility is the basis of one statement of the second law of thermodynamics, as follows: It is impossible for any s..

First Law of Thermodynamics or Law of Conservation of Energy - The total energy in the universe is present either as kinetic energy or as potential energy. For example, the water stored in a dam possesses potential energy by virtue of its height (position). When this water is al..

Processes by which substances are transformed to one or several products are called chemical reactions. Chemical processes that occur in the presence of light, like sunlight, are called photochemical reactions. These processes can occur naturally or under controlled conditions in the laboratory. To..

Internal Energy - Internal energy is one of the most important concepts in thermodynamics. Energy changes in a body sliding with friction. Warming a body increases its internal energy and cooling the body decreases its internal energy. However, what is internal energy? We can look at it i..

According to the assumptions of kinetic theory of gases, the free path traveled between two successive collisions will be a straight line with constant velocity. This means the path of a single gas molecule consists of a series of short zigzag path of different lengths. The mean of the l..