Unstable vs Reversible - What's the difference?
unstable | reversible | Related terms |
Having a strong tendency to change.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= Fluctuating; not constant.
Fickle.
Unpredictable.
(chemistry) Readily decomposable.
(physics) Radioactive, especially with a short half-life.
able to be reversed
(of clothing) able to be worn inside out
(chemistry) (of a chemical reaction ) capable of proceeding in either direction
(physics) (of a phase change ) capable of returning to the original state
(thermodynamics) capable of returning to the original state without consumption of free energy and increase of entropy
In chemistry terms the difference between unstable and reversible
is that unstable is readily decomposable while reversible is (of a chemical reaction) capable of proceeding in either direction.In physics terms the difference between unstable and reversible
is that unstable is radioactive, especially with a short half-life while reversible is (of a phase change) capable of returning to the original state.As adjectives the difference between unstable and reversible
is that unstable is having a strong tendency to change while reversible is able to be reversed.unstable
English
Adjective
(en adjective)Yesterday’s fuel, passage=The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.