by doing work on its surroundings, or by gaining or losing energy as heat. It is not quite lucid to merely say that "the converted chemical potential energy has simply become internal energy". It is, however, sometimes convenient to say "the chemical potential energy has been converted into thermal energy". This is expressed in ordinary traditional language by talking of 'heat of reaction'.

Potential energy of internal interactions

In a body of material, especially in condensed

1.Previous
3.Next