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:
“In action, the English have the advantage enjoyed by free men always entitled to free discussion: of having a ready judgment on every question. We Germans, on the other hand, are always thinking. We think so much that we never form a judgment.”
—Heinrich Heine (1797–1856)
“Just as we need to encourage women to test life’s many options, we need to acknowledge real limits of energy and resources. It would be pointless and cruel to prescribe role combination for every woman at each moment of her life. Life has its seasons. There are moments when a woman ought to invest emotionally in many different roles, and other moments when she may need to conserve her psychological energies.”
—Faye J. Crosby (20th century)