Skip to main content

Activity

  • Living reference work entry
  • Latest version View entry history
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

Definition

In chemistry, the activity of a species is a measure of its effective concentration, as distinct from its concentration. This is, by convention, usually presented as a unitless value. Activity can be affected by factors such as pressure, temperature, and the presence of other solutes. The difference in value between concentration and activity is due to the fact that molecules in solution often display nonideal behavior due to molecular interactions. In the gas phase, activity is called fugacity.

Cross-References

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Cleaves, H.J. (2022). Activity. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_27-4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_27-4

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Activity
    Published:
    25 December 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_27-4

  2. Original

    Activity
    Published:
    22 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_27-3