- #1
xpell
- 140
- 16
Hi! After watching a couple videos about the explosive reaction of sodium in freshwater and seawater, I felt curious and wanted to calculate how much energy is released. However, my Chemistry is super rusty and I think that my result is way too high (equivalent to almost 2 g of TNT per gram of sodium!) Would you please confirm or tell me where did I mess it up:?
The balanced equation for the reaction is:
2Na + 2H2O → 2NaOH + H2
Change in enthalpy for the reaction at 20ºC (ΔH20C) is: -368.6 kJ.
So, the energy released in the reaction = 368.6 kJ
Mass of 2Na (2 moles of sodium) = 23 x 2 = 46 grams
Energy released for 46 grams of sodium = 368.6 kJ
Hence, energy released for 1 g of sodium = 368.6/46 = 8,013 J ≈ 8 kJ (!)
PS. If someone is so kind to tell me how to calculate this under different conditions of water pressure / temperature, I'd appreciate it a lot too.
The balanced equation for the reaction is:
2Na + 2H2O → 2NaOH + H2
Change in enthalpy for the reaction at 20ºC (ΔH20C) is: -368.6 kJ.
So, the energy released in the reaction = 368.6 kJ
Mass of 2Na (2 moles of sodium) = 23 x 2 = 46 grams
Energy released for 46 grams of sodium = 368.6 kJ
Hence, energy released for 1 g of sodium = 368.6/46 = 8,013 J ≈ 8 kJ (!)
PS. If someone is so kind to tell me how to calculate this under different conditions of water pressure / temperature, I'd appreciate it a lot too.