chemical potential

American  

noun

Thermodynamics.

1. a quantity that determines the transport of matter from one phase to another: a component will flow from one phase to another when the chemical potential of the component is greater in the first phase than in the second.

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chemical potential British  

noun

1.  μ.  a thermodynamic function of a substance in a system that is the partial differential of the Gibbs function of the system with respect to the number of moles of the substance

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chemical potential

When it reaches the surface, the chemical potential is converted into kinetic energy, giving the muonium atom a boost that sends it vertically upward.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

"So we're using the chemical potential as an atomic cannon," explains Zhang.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

The equations that describe physical systems often assume that measurable features of the system -- temperature or chemical potential, for example -- can be known exactly.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 15, 2024

Figure 21.16 A car battery charger reverses the normal direction of current through a battery, reversing its chemical reaction and replenishing its chemical potential.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

The catalyzer, or ferment, does not contribute matter to the reaction, but only the minimal energy necessary to liberate the chemical potential energy stored in the fermenting substance.

From The Mechanism of Life by Stéphane Leduc