Activation energy

Description

The amount of energy required by an atomic or molecular system to raise it from a ground state to a higher energy level. The excited state permits reactions that are not possible from the ground state, such as electron transfers between shells, emission of fluorescence, or production of a radioactive material through bombardment with nuclear particles.

Synonyms and Related Terms

excitation energy; Aktivierungsenergie (Deut.); energía de activación (Esp.); énergie d'activation (Fr.); energia di attivazione (It.); activeringsenergie (Ned.); energia aktywacji (Pol.); aktiveringsenergi (Sven.)

Authority

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activation_energy (Accessed Feb. 2, 2006)