Le Chatelier and Equilibrium
Henri Le Chatelier
1850-1936
In this podcast, the goal of all chemical processes is discussed; equilibrium. More than just the establishment of chemical equilibrium, this episode considers the perturbation and response of an equilibrium chemical system when a disturbance is placed upon it which is known as Le Chatelier's Principle. Henri Le Chatelier's educational/professional life, which is strangely similar to that of Mark and Jack's (but with a much higher degree of success!) is also discussed by the twins.
Podcast length: 47:41
Show Notes:
Selected Awards and Publications associated with Henri Le Chatelier:
The Davy Medal in 1916 to Henri Louis Le Chatelier "On the ground of his eminence as a chemist"
Discussed in the episode:
The Equilibrium Condition
These constant concentrations are what get plugged into the mass action expression (see below)
The Law of Mass Action and the Mass Action Expression
The Law of Mass Action:
The rate of any chemical reaction is proportional to the product of the masses of the reacting substances, with each mass raised to a power equal to the coefficient that occurs in the chemical equation.
Le Chatelier's Principle
The Principle:
When a chemical system at equilibrium is stressed, the system will respond in such a way as to counter the stress.
Le Chatelier's Inventions
The father of the modern thermocouple, Le Chatelier was the first to employ a rhodium-platinum alloy against platinum and to recommend calibration in terms of the fixed points of melting or boiling of pure substances
