Activation Energy

What Does Activation Energy Mean?

Activation energy is a concept used in chemistry that was introduced by the scientist from Sweden named “Svante Arrhenius” in 1889. Activation energy is the minimum amount of energy required by chemical reactants to undergo a chemical reaction. Activation energy is also defined as the least possible energy required to initiate a chemical reaction.

Corrosionpedia Explains Activation Energy

The activation energy is expressed by the symbol “E_a” and is measured in kL/mol or kcal/mol. Per Svante Arrhenius, the equation for activation energy is:

K = A x e^{– Ea / RT}

Where, K is the coefficient of the rate of reaction

A is the frequency factor

R is the universal gas constant

T is the temperature in Kelvin and

Ea is the Activation Energy

In the transition state theory, activation energy is described as the difference between the atoms or molecules of the chemical reactant in the transition state and those of atoms or molecules of the chemical reactants in the initial state.