Definitions for "Le Chatelier's principle"
Le Chatelier's principle predicts that when a stress is applied to an equilibrium mixture, the equilibrium will shift to relieve the stress. Stresses include temperature changes, pressure changes, and changes in the concentrations of species in the mixture. For example, increasing the concentration of a reactant drives the reaction forward; increasing the concentration of a product drives it backward.
a system that in equilibrium is disturbed adjusts so as to minimize the disturbance.
The idea that a system at equilibrium will respond to a stress placed upon it in such a manner as to partially offset that stress. The principle was first stated in 1888 by French physical chemist Henri Le Chatelier (1850-1936).