Chatelier’s principle, named after French chemist Henri-Louis Le Chatelier, states that when any chemical system at equilibrium is subject to a change in conditions, such as a shift in temperature, volume, or pressure, it readjusts itself into a new equilibrium state and usually partially counteracts the change. For example, if someone hands you a box to carry, you don’t immediately topple over; you instead shift your weight distribution to account for the new weight. Or in economics, if a new tax is introduced, tax revenues from that tax end up being lower in the long run than one would
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