In
thermodynamics, the Gibbs free energy (
IUPAC recommended name: Gibbs energy or Gibbs function) is a
thermodynamic potential which measures the "useful" or process-initiating work obtainable from an
isothermal,
isobaric thermodynamic system. Technically, the Gibbs free energy is the maximum amount of non-expansion work which can be extracted from a
closed system or this maximum can be attained only in a completely
reversible process. When a system changes from a well-defined initial state to a well-defined final state, the Gibbs free energy ΔG equals the work exchanged by the system with its surroundings, less the work of the pressure forces, during a reversible transformation of the system from the same initial state to the same final state.
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(G) A thermodynamic property devised by Josiah Willard Gibbs in 1876 to predict whether a process will occur spontaneously at constant pressure and temperature. Gibbs free energy G is defined as G = H - TS where H, T and S are the
enthalpy ,
temperature , and
entropy . Changes in G correspond to changes in
free energy for processes occuring at constant temperature and pressure; the Gibbs free energy change corresponds to the maximum nonexpansion work that can be obtained under these conditions. The sign of
Delta G is negative for all spontaneous processes and zero for processes at
equilibrium .