Hello everyone,
I am having a little difficulty understand precisely what Gibbs free energy is. I have read in my textbook that a negative change in Gibbs free energy implies that the substance under consideration will react/change spontaneously. As such, the more negative the Gibbs free energy is, the more spontaneously the reaction/occurs. However, at another point in the book, the author states that the smaller the Gibbs free energy is, the more stable it is. This two ideas seem to be conflicting...
I am having a little difficulty understand precisely what Gibbs free energy is. I have read in my textbook that a negative change in Gibbs free energy implies that the substance under consideration will react/change spontaneously. As such, the more negative the Gibbs free energy is, the more spontaneously the reaction/occurs. However, at another point in the book, the author states that the smaller the Gibbs free energy is, the more stable it is. This two ideas seem to be conflicting...