Free energy | Definition, Units, Gibbs, Helmholtz, Symbol, Equation, & Facts (2024)

free energy, in thermodynamics, energylike property or state function of a system in thermodynamic equilibrium. Free energy has the dimensions of energy, and its value is determined by the state of the system and not by its history. Free energy is used to determine how systems change and how much work they can produce. It is expressed in two forms: the Helmholtz free energy F, sometimes called the work function, and the Gibbs free energy G. If U is the internal energy of a system, PV the pressure-volume product, and TS the temperature-entropy product (T being the temperature above absolute zero), then F=U−TS and G=U+PV−TS. The latter equation can also be written in the form G=H–TS, where H=U+PV is the enthalpy. Free energy is an extensive property, meaning that its magnitude depends on the amount of a substance in a given thermodynamic state.

The changes in free energy, ΔF or ΔG, are useful in determining the direction of spontaneous change and evaluating the maximum work that can be obtained from thermodynamic processes involving chemical or other types of reactions. In a reversible process the maximum useful work that can be obtained from a system under constant temperature and constant volume is equal to the (negative) change in the Helmholtz free energy, −ΔF=−ΔU+TΔS, and the maximum useful work under constant temperature and constant pressure (other than work done against the atmosphere) is equal to the (negative) change in the Gibbs free energy, −ΔG=−ΔH+TΔS. In each case, the TΔS entropy term represents the heat absorbed by the system from a heat reservoir at temperature T under conditions where the system does maximum work. By conservation of energy, the total work done also includes the decrease in internal energy U or enthalpy H as the case may be. For example, the energy for the maximum electrical work done by a battery as it discharges comes both from the decrease in its internal energy due to chemical reactions and from the heat TΔS it absorbs in order to keep its temperature constant, which is the ideal maximum heat that can be absorbed. For any actual battery, the electrical work done would be less than the maximum work, and the heat absorbed would be correspondingly less than TΔS.

Changes in free energy can be used to judge whether changes of state can occur spontaneously. Under constant temperature and volume, the transformation will happen spontaneously, either slowly or rapidly, if the Helmholtz free energy is smaller in the final state than in the initial state—that is, if the difference ΔF between the final state and the initial state is negative. Under constant temperature and pressure, the transformation of state will occur spontaneously if the change in the Gibbs free energy, ΔG, is negative.

Phase transitions provide instructive examples, as when ice melts to form water at 0.01 °C (T=273.16 K), with the solid and liquid phases in equilibrium. Then ΔH=79.71caloriespergram is the latent heat of fusion, and by definition ΔS=ΔH/T=0.292caloriespergram∙K is the entropy change. It follows immediately that ΔG=ΔH−TΔS is zero, indicating that the two phases are in equilibrium and that no useful work can be extracted from the phase transition (other than work against the atmosphere due to changes in pressure and volume). Furthermore, ΔG is negative for T>273.16 K, indicating that the direction of spontaneous change is from ice to water, and ΔG is positive for T<273.16 K, where the reverse reaction of freezing takes place.