free energy

American  

noun

Thermodynamics.

1. Gibbs function.

2. Helmholtz function.

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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

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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

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Example Sentences

But for Mr Baker's ice cream factory, it meant free energy.

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025

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

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

Reports in the literature are sparse and much of the experimental data on free energy determinations for molecules of pharmaceutical interest is simply not in the public domain.

From Science Daily • Nov. 10, 2023

Thus the electromotive force is equal to the change of this free energy per electrochemical equivalent of reaction in the cell.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various