What triggers a chemical reaction? - Kareem Jarrah
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-triggers-a-chemical-reaction-kareem-jarrah Chemicals are in everything we see, and the reactions between them can look like anything from rust...
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You know how sometimes you go to bake a cake but your bananas have all gone rotten, your utensils have rusted, you trip and pour all of your baking soda into the vinegar jug, and then your oven explodes? My friend, you and your chemical reactions have fallen victim to enthalpy and entropy and, boy, are they forces to be reckoned with. Now, your reactants are all products. So, what are these "E" words, and what's their big idea? Let's start with enthalpy, an increase or decrease of energy during a chemical reaction. Every molecule has a certain amount of chemical potential energy stored within the bonds between its atoms. Chemicals with more energy are less stable, and thus, more likely to react. Let's visualize the energy flow...
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You know how sometimes you go to bake a cake but your bananas have all gone rotten, your utensils have rusted, you trip and pour all of your baking soda into the vinegar jug, and then your oven explodes? My friend, you and your chemical reactions have fallen victim to enthalpy and entropy and, boy, are they forces to be reckoned with. Now, your reactants are all products. So, what are these "E" words, and what's their big idea? Let's start with enthalpy, an increase or decrease of energy during a chemical reaction. Every molecule has a certain amount of chemical potential energy stored within the bonds between its atoms. Chemicals with more energy are less stable, and thus, more likely to react. Let's visualize the energy flow...
