Most solutions or reactions that exist, exist in a dynamic equilibrium.

A
dynamic equilibrium is a reaction that is reversible and after a certain period
of time the concentrations of the products and the reactants remain equal,
this is usually shown in an equation using a double arrow instead of a single
one. However even though the concentrations remain the same does not
mean that no reactions are taking place, in fact if a reaction is in equilibrium
it just means that there is no net change, which means the amount of
reactant that is being use up is equivalent to the amount of product that is
changing back to the reactant. Once a system reaches equilibrium and the
concentration is set then one can calculate the equilibrium constant which is
a ratio between the products over the reactants, also using coefficients as
exponents. This general principle of a reaction trying to maintain equilibrium
is called Le Chatelier's Principle.
A perfect example that can be used for Le Chatelier's Principle is a
reaction between H2 and I2 gas molecules, assuming that the reaction is
occurring at a constant Temperature, Pressure, and Volume, since these
factors and a change in concentration can offset the equilibrium thereby
creating another one. However in the original situation there will be only H2
and I2 gas molecules floating around. Since these two molecules are floating
around they will interact with one another and once the two molecules will
"hit" each other at the right angle and speed they will then interact with one
another and therefore create HI molecules. Since these are all gas particles
nothing will be explicitly seen and no observed change will seem to take

place, however if this reaction were to take place using hydrogen peroxide,
by using an indicator we would be able to see the reaction take place by the
color change. On the microscopic level what you may not see is that the H2
molecules and the I2 molecules are reacting amongst themselves and very
slowly creating more and more HI particles. However the more HI particles
that are created also begin to react with one another and simultaneously the
reaction will begin to reverse itself but not at the same rate. Eventually after
enough time passes and enough HI is created the rate at which H2 and I2
react with another to create HI, HI will react with one another and recreate
H2 and I2 molecules again.
All dynamic equilibrium reactions in one way or another prefer stability
and therefore that is when the forward reaction equals the reverse reaction,
this also means that once the reaction reaches an equilibrium state it will not
shift and go out of the state unless it is forced to or stress is applied by an
outside force. This essentially means that the reaction will be exactly the
same (in the sense of the same concentration and rate) 2 minutes after
equilibrium is reached or 20 minutes after it is reached. This is essentially
what the definition of the state means the rate at which the reaction moves
forwards it moves back as well which means it is in a perpetual state of
endlessness.
Even though the equation we are given may seem broad a lot of
information can also be determined from the chemical equation itself
H2(g+I2(g)<->2HI(g). Firstly you can determine that all the molecules that

are used are gasses and therefore they have pressure, which if turned into
activities can be used to find the equilibrium constant. Secondly you can
see/assume that by using 1 mole of H2 and 1 mole of I2 you can create 2
moles of HI, which in the overall reaction two moles of reactant created 2
moles of product. Also one can determine the rate at which these reactions
take place. This information can help us tremendously with our reactions that
occur.
Now assuming that instead of having 2 different molecules prone to
interacting with each other interact to form a product some people may
wonder, if you start with just the products will there be reaction at all or will
the process essentially be "completed"? Well since this reaction is not in
equilibrium and there are too many products and no reactants the rate at
which the HI molecules will react with one another will increase greatly as I
have previously stated. The HI molecules will interact with one another any
by "hitting" each other at just the right angle and force the HI molecule will
break up to form two different molecules H2 and I2 therefore creating the
reactants. Assuming that we use the same number of molecules as in the
first example the equilibrium will be achieved at the same exact time that it
took it before, the concentration of each particle will be the same and the
rate at which they interact will also be the same. Since the equilibrium
constant is essentially a ratio of the amount of H2 I2 and HI can carry, the
proportionality that they have with each other will not change.
Once a system has reached equilibrium it is virtually impossible to

determine how the reaction began. Meaning that using the two examples
and observing them side by side, if one were to observe them once the
reactions have reached equilibrium they would be indistinguishable from one
another, assuming of course that the concentrations are the same. Reaching
a state of stability is extremely important for a reaction to take place. Unless
the reaction is energetically favorable it will not occur. This means that
despite any of the stresses that may be applied to a system in equilibrium it
will also attempt to resolve the stress by reacting towards more stability.