Enthalpy

Description

Enthalpy is a defined thermodynamic potential, that consists of the internal energy of the system (U) plus the product of pressure (p) and volume (V) of the system. Enthalpy is a measure of the total energy of a thermodynamic system. It includes the internal energy, which is the energy required to create a system, and the amount of energy required to make room for it by displacing its environment and establishing its volume and pressure. Enthalpy is a state function. ( State function or state variable is a property of a system that depends only on the current state of the system, not on the way in which the system acquired that state. A state function describes the equilibrium state of a system ). Enthalpy change accounts for energy transferred to the environment at constant pressure through expansion or heating.