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.

---

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

---

Example Sentences

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

First, the air-fuel mixture is ignited, converting chemical potential energy into thermal energy almost instantaneously, which leads to a great increase in pressure.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Basically, metabolism is an oxidation process in which the chemical potential energy of food is released.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

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 Leduc, Stéphane