Chemical Kinetics Simulator

Reaction Vessel — A + B → C

Temperature 500 K

Activation energy Eₐ 45 kJ/mol

Initial concentration 28 / species

[A]

–

[B]

–

[C]

–

Rate constant k

–

Eₐ effective

–

Collisions/s

–

Reactions/s

–

Concentration vs time

[A] [B] [C]

How it works

Reactant molecules A (cyan) and B (orange) drift by Brownian motion inside the vessel, their speed set by temperature. Whenever an A and a B touch, the collision's relative kinetic energy is compared with the activation energy Eₐ. Only collisions energetic enough to clear that barrier react — both molecules turn into product C (green). Because molecular speeds follow a Maxwell–Boltzmann-like spread, raising T pushes more molecules into the high-energy tail able to clear Eₐ, exactly the effect the Arrhenius equation captures for the bulk rate constant:

k = A·exp(−Eₐ / R·T)
E_collision = ½·μ·v_rel²   (μ = reduced mass)
react if  E_collision ≥ Eₐ,eff

Temperature — scales molecular speed (∝√T) and the theoretical k shown above; hotter vessels react faster because more collisions exceed Eₐ.
Activation energy Eₐ — the energy barrier a collision must clear to react; raising it filters out all but the fastest collisions.
Catalyst — halves the effective activation energy without touching T, letting far more collisions succeed at the same temperature — the same mechanism real catalysts use (an alternative lower-energy pathway).
Initial concentration — starting molecule count per species (applied on Reset); higher concentration means more collisions per second and a faster initial reaction rate.

Real-world relevance: this collision–energy picture underlies industrial reactor design, from choosing operating temperature to selecting catalysts that make reactions economical at lower heat input.

A (reactant) B (reactant) C (product)

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