Reaktiolämpö

Reaktiolämpö, also known as heat of reaction, refers to the change in enthalpy that accompanies a chemical reaction occurring at constant pressure. Enthalpy is a thermodynamic property representing the total heat content of a system. When a chemical reaction takes place, bonds are broken and new bonds are formed, leading to an energy difference between the reactants and the products. This energy difference is released or absorbed as heat, and this heat transfer is quantified as the reaktiolämpö.

If the reaktiolämpö is negative, it means that the reaction releases heat into the surroundings, and the process is exothermic. In such cases, the products have lower enthalpy than the reactants. Conversely, if the reaktiolämpö is positive, the reaction absorbs heat from the surroundings, and the process is endothermic. Here, the products have higher enthalpy than the reactants. The units for reaktiolämpö are typically joules per mole (J/mol) or kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol).

The reaktiolämpö is an important thermodynamic property that helps in understanding the energy balance of a chemical transformation. It is crucial in various fields, including chemical engineering for process design and optimization, as well as in areas like calorimetry, which is the science of measuring heat. Accurate measurement and calculation of reaktiolämpö are essential for predicting reaction feasibility and controlling reaction conditions.