Definition
The activity of a species i, denoted ai, is defined as:
where μi is the chemical potential of the species under the conditions of interest, μoi is the chemical potential of that species in the chosen standard state, R is the gas constant and T is the thermodynamic temperature. This definition can also be written in terms of the chemical potential:
Hence the activity will depend on any factor that alters the chemical potential. These include temperature, pressure, chemical environment etc. In specialised cases, other factors may have to be considered, such as the presence of an electric or magnetic field or the position in a gravitational field. However, the most common use of activity is to describe the variation in chemical potential with the composition of a mixture.
The activity also depends on the choice of standard state, as it describes the difference between an actual chemical potential and a standard chemical potential. In principle, the choice of standard state is arbitrary, although there are certain conventional standard states which are usually used in different situations.
Read more about this topic: Activity (chemistry)
Famous quotes containing the word definition:
“It’s a rare parent who can see his or her child clearly and objectively. At a school board meeting I attended . . . the only definition of a gifted child on which everyone in the audience could agree was “mine.””
—Jane Adams (20th century)
“Was man made stupid to see his own stupidity?
Is God by definition indifferent, beyond us all?
Is the eternal truth man’s fighting soul
Wherein the Beast ravens in its own avidity?”
—Richard Eberhart (b. 1904)
“It is very hard to give a just definition of love. The most we can say of it is this: that in the soul, it is a desire to rule; in the spirit, it is a sympathy; and in the body, it is but a hidden and subtle desire to possess—after many mysteries—what one loves.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)