Editing Thermodynamic activity (section)

===Single ion activity measurability revisited===
The prevailing view that single ion activities are unmeasurable, or perhaps even physically meaningless, has its roots in the work of [[Edward A. Guggenheim]] in the late 1920s.<ref>{{cite journal|first=E. A. |last=Guggenheim |title=The Conceptions of Electrical Potential Difference between Two Phases and the Individual Activities of Ions |journal=[[J. Phys. Chem.]] |volume=33 |issue=6 |date=1929 |pages=842–849 |doi=10.1021/j150300a003}}</ref> However, chemists have not given up the idea of single ion activities. For example, [[pH]] is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion activity. By implication, if the prevailing view on the physical meaning and measurability of single ion activities is correct it relegates pH to the category of thermodynamically unmeasurable quantities. For this reason the [[International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]] (IUPAC) states that the activity-based definition of pH is a notional definition only and further states that the establishment of primary pH standards requires the application of the concept of 'primary method of measurement' tied to the Harned cell.<ref>{{GoldBookRef|file=P04524|title=pH}}</ref>  Nevertheless, the concept of single ion activities continues to be discussed in the literature, and at least one author purports to define single ion activities in terms of purely thermodynamic quantities. The same author also proposes a method of measuring single ion activity coefficients based on purely thermodynamic processes.<ref>{{cite journal|first=A.L. |last=Rockwood |title=Meaning and measurability of single ion activities, the thermodynamic foundations of pH, and the Gibbs free energy for the transfer of ions between dissimilar materials |journal=ChemPhysChem |volume=16 |issue=9 |date=2015 |pages=1978–1991 |doi=10.1002/cphc.201500044 |pmid=25919971 |pmc=4501315 }}</ref> A different approach <ref>{{Cite journal |last=May |first=Peter M. |last2=May |first2=Eric |date=2024 |title=Ion Trios: Cause of Ion Specific Interactions in Aqueous Solutions and Path to a Better pH Definition |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.4c07525 |journal=ACS Omega |volume=9 |issue=46 |pages=46373–46386 |doi=10.1021/acsomega.4c07525|pmc=11579776 }}</ref> has a similar objective.