Construct · 1 fields · 2 citations

Le Chatelier's principle: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

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Le Chatelier'sprinciple1 CONSTRUCTLe ChatelierLE CHATELIER · SHIFT

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Physical chemistry

An equilibrium shifts to partially offset an imposed change

Henri Louis Le Chatelier stated the principle in 1884 in the Comptes Rendus of the French Academy of Sciences, proposing that a chemical system at equilibrium, a balance point where the forward and reverse reactions run at equal rates so the amounts of substances stay steady, responds to an imposed change in a condition such as concentration, pressure, or temperature by shifting in the direction that partially offsets that change and reaching a new equilibrium. Karl Ferdinand Braun arrived at an equivalent generalization independently in 1887, so the rule is also known as the Le Chatelier-Braun principle, and de Heer (1957) later set out the conditions under which it holds rigorously rather than as a rough qualitative guide. The principle predicts only the direction of the response and not its size: heating a reaction that absorbs heat drives it forward, and compressing a gas-phase equilibrium pushes it toward the side with fewer gas molecules. Its reach is what makes it a landmark, one compact rule that applies across chemical reactions and physical equilibria alike, including phase changes and the solubility of solids and gases. de Heer (1957) also showed that the response can weaken or reverse for certain coupled or constrained systems, so the principle carries a bounded rather than a universal scope.[1][2]

Unit
A qualitative rule predicting the direction in which an equilibrium system responds to an imposed change
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Identified by observing the direction of an equilibrium shift after a controlled change in concentration, pressure, or temperature, tracked through the reaction quotient relative to the equilibrium constant

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Nearby constructs

equilibrium4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructsentropy6 fields · 12 citationsjingle · one name, six constructsbalance4 fields · 5 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Le Chatelier, H. L. (1884). Sur un énoncé général des lois des équilibres chimiques. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, 99, 786–789.
  2. De Heer, J. (1957). The principle of Le Châtelier and Braun. Journal of Chemical Education, 34(8), 375. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed034p375

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