Favoured Is Not Fast

You'll learnhow to read ΔG and Eₐ off one diagram, why a favoured reaction can be permanently stuck, and what a catalyst does and does not change.

Graphite is the more stable form of carbon, so every diamond ever mined has been quietly failing to convert for a billion years. Nothing is wrong with the free-energy calculation; it simply answers a different question from the one you were asking. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.

12 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · ΔG SAYS WHETHER · Eₐ SAYS HOW FAST · v2

ΔG asks whether it will · Eₐ asks how long you will wait

Before you start

What you're looking at

An energy profile: diamond on the left, a tall barrier, and graphite lower down on the right.

The question

Graphite is lower in free energy, so the reaction is favoured. Why has it not happened?

Step 1 / 12