activation energy ( k t -v  shn) The least amount of energy needed for a chemical reaction to take place. Some elements and compounds react together naturally just by being close to each other, and their activation energy is zero. Others will react together only after a certain amount of energy is added to them. Striking a match on the side of a matchbox, for example, provides the activation energy (in the form of heat produced by friction) necessary for the chemicals in the match to ignite. Activation energy is usually expressed in terms of joules per mole of reactants. |
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| Noun | 1. | activation energy - the energy that an atomic system must acquire before a process (such as an emission or reaction) can occur; "catalysts are said to reduce the energy of activation during the transition phase of a reaction" energy, free energy - (physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs; "energy can take a wide variety of forms" |
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