What is the “driving force” for a spontaneous physical or chemical change? In other words, why...

What is the “driving force” for a spontaneous physical or chemical change? In other words, why do spontaneous physical and/or chemical changes occur?

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Expert Solution

As per the second law of thermodynamics, any physical or chemical changes in nature will be spontaneous if the total change in the entropy for that process is greater than zero or it is positive. Total change in the entropy means, change in entropy of the system + change in entropy for the surrounding, combined values must be positive for a spontaneous process.
Entropy indicates the randomness present in the system, it is measured in terms of heat transfer between the system and surrounding.
Spontaneous physical or chemical changes occur because they are self-driven, there is no external agent needed for them, for example, burning of a candle, falling of water from a height, these are spontaneous changes occurring in nature,
Hence, the driving force for spontaneous changes is the increase in total entropy.

queen_honey_blossom answered 1 year ago

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