ABSTRACT
Chemical thermodynamics can provide the food scientist with important quantitative knowledge. It treats-despite its name-equilibrium situations. Three components of thermodynamic equilibrium can be distinguished: (a) mechanical, implying that there are no unbalanced forces; (b) thermal, i.e., no temperature gradients; and (c) chemical, implying that no chemical reactions and no net transport of components occur. Thermodynamics may tell us whether there is equilibrium and, if not, in what direction the change will be, but nothing about the rate at which any reaction or other change may occur.
