Gibbs Free Energy

Definition

The single thermodynamic quantity that combines enthalpy, entropy, and temperature to determine whether dissolution is favored.

Expressed as ΔG = ΔH minus TΔS, it collapses cost, payoff, and entropy into one number whose sign is all that matters. If ΔG is negative, dissolution is favored; if positive, the solid state is favored. Warming a tower until calcium drops out as scale is watching ΔG flip sign in real time.

Related concepts

Hydration Energy · Entropy · Lattice Energy

How it connects

• this drives Solubility

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Part of The Blueprint of Water · 🔥 thermodynamics