Microscopic description of Le Châtelier's principle

Abstract

The Le Chatelier's principle (LCP) states that a system at equilibrium, when subjected to a disturbance, responds in a way that tends to minimize the effect of the disturbance. It represents a qualitative summary of a wide range of observations, but does not have well-defined terms of reference. This paper presents a simple approach that demystifies LCP and stimulates students to think about fundamental physical background behind the well-known principles. The approach uses microscopic descriptor of matter and does not require any assumptions about the nature of A or B or the types of processes that interconvert A and B.