Arrhenius equation

In physical chemistry, the Arrhenius equation is a formula for the temperature dependence of reaction rates. In 1889 while working with Wilhelm Ostwald at Leipzig University, Svante Arrhenius proposed the equation on the basis of the work of Dutch chemist Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, who had noted in 1884 that the Van 't Hoff equation for the temperature dependence of equilibrium constants suggests such a formula for the rates of both forward and reverse reactions. This equation has a vast and important application in determining the rate of chemical reactions and for calculation of energy of activation. Arrhenius provided a physical justification and interpretation for the formula. Currently, it is best seen as an empirical relationship. It can be used to model the temperature variation of diffusion coefficients, population of crystal vacancies, creep rates, and many other thermally induced processes and reactions. The Eyring equation, developed in 1935, also expresses the relationship between rate and energy. The temperature dependence arises because a greater fraction of molecular collisions have sufficient energy to exceed the activation barrier as temperature increases.