Enthalpy

[Markus Min 2I]

What exactly is enthalpy? So far in class all we seem to care about is change in enthalpy, delta H. However, what is just enthalpy on its own? Does every substance have enthalpy in its stable state? If so, what is that determined by?

[Christopher Ansay 1C]

Enthalpy is the total heat content of a substance. We refer usually to the change in enthalpy (deltaH) because we cannot directly measure the total enthalpy of a system. We have to refer to the change in enthalpy which measures the amount of heat absorbed or released. Enthalpy is equal to the internal energy of the system plus the product of the pressure and volume, so I think most, if not all substances technically have enthalpy since most substances have internal energy.