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free energy

American  

noun

Thermodynamics.
  1. Gibbs function.

  2. Helmholtz function.


free energy British  

noun

  1. a thermodynamic property that expresses the capacity of a system to perform work under certain conditions See Gibbs function Helmholtz function

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

free energy Scientific  
  1. A thermodynamic quantity that is the difference between the internal energy of a system and the product of its absolute temperature and entropy. Free energy is a measure of the capacity of the system to do work. If its value is negative, the system will have a tendency to do work spontaneously, as in an exothermic chemical reaction. Free energy is measured in kilojoules per mole.

  2. Also called Gibbs free energy


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.

See Examples For:

But the key is the free energy you obtain by letting heat from the air outside do much of the heavy lifting in boiling the refrigerant when it is cold.

From BBC Mar. 22, 2026

And imagine if you were charging your car with energy from your own solar panels - you could sell this free energy to the grid for a decent margin, trials have shown.

From BBC Dec. 7, 2023

Quantitatively measuring the free energy differences between crystalline forms is no small challenge.

From Science Daily Nov. 10, 2023

To overcome this challenge, experts in academia and industry have compiled the first ever reliable experimental benchmark of solid-solid free energy differences for chemically diverse, industrially relevant systems.

From Science Daily Nov. 10, 2023

As a University Professor of Physics with a background in energy usage, I set out to develop a means of cooking food and sterilizing water using the free energy of the sun.

From The BYU Solar Cooker/Cooler by Jones, Steven E.

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