Equation 3 · Part 14 · Lowering the Barrier: What a Catalyst Actually Does
Denominator: RT
What this part means
The complete quantity below the fraction bar; it must be nonzero for this division.
Its job in the formula
RT occurs below the fraction bar. The quantity above the bar is divided by this expression; zero is excluded as a denominator.
Full expression→Denominator: RT→Article meaning
The passage around this formula
Transition state theory recasts this in thermodynamic language. Treating the activated complex as in quasi-equilibrium with the reactants gives . in which the universal frequency factor sets the timescale, the Gibbs energy of activation sets the barrier, and the transmission coefficient absorbs the failures of the picture — recrossing of the dividing surface, tunnelling, and the fact that the chosen reaction coordinate is rarely perfect. Splitting the activation Gibbs energy into enthalpic and entropic parts is the point of the exercise. It makes explicit that a catalyst can help either by lowering the enthalpic cost of bond reorganisation or by paying the entropic price…
Learn the underlying idea
A fraction a/b means a divided by b. The top number is the numerator; the bottom number is the denominator, and it cannot be zero.
Open the illustrated fractions: division written vertically guide →
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