<P> The Arrhenius equation is a formula for the temperature dependence of reaction rates . The equation was proposed by Svante Arrhenius in 1889, based on the work of Dutch chemist Jacobus Henricus van' t Hoff who had noted in 1884 that Van' t Hoff's equation for the temperature dependence of equilibrium constants suggests such a formula for the rates of both forward and reverse reactions . This equation has a vast and important application in determining rate of chemical reactions and for calculation of energy of activation . Arrhenius provided a physical justification and interpretation for the formula . Currently, it is best seen as an empirical relationship . It can be used to model the temperature variation of diffusion coefficients, population of crystal vacancies, creep rates, and many other thermally - induced processes / reactions . The Eyring equation, developed in 1935, also expresses the relationship between rate and energy . </P> <P> A historically useful generalization supported by Arrhenius' equation is that, for many common chemical reactions at room temperature, the reaction rate doubles for every 10 degree Celsius increase in temperature . </P>

The rate constant of a reaction increases with increases of temperature because