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chemical kinetics
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A graph showing a potential energy curve for a chemical reaction, with the y-axis labeled potential energy and the x-axis labeled progress of reaction. The curve rises from the initial state (reactants) to a peak labeled transition state (activated complex), indicating activation energy, then drops to the final state (products).
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A graph showing a potential energy curve for a chemical reaction, with the y-axis labeled potential energy and the x-axis labeled progress of reaction. The curve rises from the initial state (reactants) to a peak labeled transition state (activated complex), indicating activation energy, then drops to the final state (products).
activation energy In the Arrhenius equation, the activation energy (E) represents the minimum amount of energy required to transform reactants into products in a chemical reaction. On a potential energy curve, the value of the activation energy is equivalent to the difference in potential energy between particles in an intermediate configuration (known as the activated complex, or transition state) and particles of reactants in their initial state. The activation energy thus can be visualized as a barrier that must be overcome by reactants before products can be formed.

chemical kinetics

chemistry
Written by
Keith J. Laidler
Former Professor of Chemistry, University of Ottawa, Ontario. Author of The World of Physical Chemistry.
Keith J. Laidler
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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chemical kinetics, the branch of physical chemistry that is concerned with understanding the rates of chemical reactions. Chemical kinetics relates to many aspects of cosmology, geology, biology, engineering, and even psychology and thus has far-reaching implications. The principles of chemical kinetics apply to purely physical processes as well as to chemical reactions. One reason for the importance of kinetics is that it provides evidence for the mechanisms of chemical processes. Besides being of intrinsic scientific...

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