spontaneous reaction
Impulse without thought
A spontaneous reaction in chemistry is one that occurs naturally without needing continuous external energy—the reaction proceeds on its own once started.
Whether a reaction is spontaneous depends on thermodynamic factors, not speed; a spontaneous reaction may still be slow.
The term extends loosely to any automatic or unforced response: Her laughter was a spontaneous reaction to the absurdity.
- impulseSudden urge to act
- reflexInvoluntary stimulus response
- serendipityAccidental fortunate discovery
- chemical equilibriumMatched opposing reaction rates
- gut feelingInstinctive sense about something
gut instinct · first instinct · entropy · intuition · catalyst · activation energy · emergence · fight or flight · snap decision · split second · heat of the moment · self-organization · instinct · free will · improvisation · spur of the moment · off the cuff · on a whim
- instinctsinstinct, survival instinct, survival instincts, maternal instinct, gut instinct
- chemical reactionscondensation, combustion, oxidation, hydrolysis, oxidation-reduction
- thermochemistryenthalpy, exothermic, endothermic, calorimetry, heat capacity
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