enthalpy
Americannoun
plural
enthalpiesnoun
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A partial measure of the internal energy of a system. Enthalpy cannot be directly measured, but changes in it can be. If an outside pressure on a system is held constant, a change in enthalpy entails a change in the system's internal energy, plus a change in the system's volume (meaning the system exchanges energy with the outside world). For example, in endothermic chemical reactions, the change in enthalpy is the amount of energy absorbed by the reaction; in exothermic reactions, it is the amount given off.
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See also thermodynamics
Etymology
Origin of enthalpy
1925–30; < Greek enthálp ( ein ) to warm in ( en- en- 2 + thálpein to warm) + -y 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Current methods to assess the efficiency of hydrogen storage materials rely on dehydrogenation enthalpy and energy barriers, with the latter being particularly complex and computationally intensive to calculate.
From Science Daily
"The high-entropy carbides all had a relatively uniform amount of enthalpy, so we could ignore part of the equation," Curtarolo said.
From Science Daily
And I didn’t know that the enthalpy decrease in a converging passage could be transformed into jet kinetic energy if a divergent passage was added.
From Literature
The reason these reactions may occur has to do with enthalpy—a measure of the total energy of a system at constant pressure.
From Scientific American
The free energy that we mentioned before is a combination of two variables, enthalpy and .
From Scientific American
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.