Free Energy

Free energy may refer to:

In science:

  • Thermodynamic free energy, the energy in a physical system that can be converted to do work, in particular:
    • Helmholtz free energy, the energy that can be converted into work at a constant temperature and volume
    • Work content, a related concept used in chemistry
    • Gibbs free energy, the energy that can be converted into work at a uniform temperature and pressure throughout a system
  • Variational free energy, a construct from Information theory that is used in Variational Bayesian methods

In pseudoscience:

  • Free energy device, a hypothetical device that creates energy in a hypothetical isolated system, i.e. without any external input, thereby contradicting the laws of thermodynamics
  • Free energy suppression, a conspiracy theory that advanced energy technologies are being suppressed by special interest groups

In music

  • Free Energy (band), a 5-piece rock band on DFA Records

Famous quotes containing the words free and/or energy:

    “Women want to serve, and this is where their happiness lies: but the free spirit does not want to be served, and this is where his happiness lies.”
    —Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

    “Because humans are not alone in exhibiting such behavior—bees stockpile royal jelly, birds feather their nests, mice shred paper—it’s possible that a pregnant woman who scrubs her house from floor to ceiling [just before her baby is born] is responding to a biological imperative . . . . Of course there are those who believe that . . . the burst of energy that propels a pregnant woman to clean her house is a perfectly natural response to their mother’s impending visit.”
    —Mary Arrigo (20th century)