Van der Waals, Johannes Diderik
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| footnotes = He is notably the father of the poet [[w:nl:Jacqueline E. van der Waals|Jacqueline Elisabeth]] and the physicist [[w:nl:Johannes Diderik van der Waals Jr|Johannes Diderik Jr.]] | | footnotes = He is notably the father of the poet [[w:nl:Jacqueline E. van der Waals|Jacqueline Elisabeth]] and the physicist [[w:nl:Johannes Diderik van der Waals Jr|Johannes Diderik Jr.]] | ||
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| − | '''Johannes Diderik van der Waals''' (November 23, 1837 – March 8, 1923) was a [[The Netherlands|Dutch]] [[scientist]] and [[thermodynamicist]] | + | '''Johannes Diderik van der Waals''' (November 23, 1837 – March 8, 1923) was a [[The Netherlands|Dutch]] [[scientist]] and [[thermodynamicist]] who was the first to obtain an equation of state that describes the condition of both gases and liquids in terms of their pressure, temperature and volume. His equation is more general than the so-called "ideal gas" law in that it takes into consideration the effect of intermolecular forces and the sizes of molecules, both of which are assumed to be nonexistent in an ideal gas. |
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
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Van der Waals died in [[Amsterdam]] in 1923. | Van der Waals died in [[Amsterdam]] in 1923. | ||
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| + | ==Legacy== | ||
| + | Van der Waals joins a long list of scientists who were high school teachers when they made major contributions to their fields. In spite of his lack of formal schooling, Van der Waals shows persistence in the face of adversity,and didn't complete his doctorate until he was in his 30s. | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
Revision as of 22:10, 20 December 2007
|
Johannes van der Waals | |
|---|---|
 Johannes Diderik van der Waals | |
| Born |
November 23 1837 |
| Died | March 8 1923 (aged 85) |
| Residence |  Netherlands
|
| Nationality | Dutch
|
| Field | Physicist |
| Institutions | University of Amsterdam |
| Alma mater | University of Leiden |
| Academic advisor | Pieter Rijke |
| Notable students | Diederik Korteweg |
| Known for | van der Waals equation of state |
| Notable prizes |  Nobel Prize for Physics (1910)
|
| He is notably the father of the poet Jacqueline Elisabeth and the physicist Johannes Diderik Jr. | |
Johannes Diderik van der Waals (November 23, 1837 – March 8, 1923) was a Dutch scientist and thermodynamicist who was the first to obtain an equation of state that describes the condition of both gases and liquids in terms of their pressure, temperature and volume. His equation is more general than the so-called "ideal gas" law in that it takes into consideration the effect of intermolecular forces and the sizes of molecules, both of which are assumed to be nonexistent in an ideal gas.
Biography
Johannes Diderik van der Waals was born in the Dutch city of Leyden. He was the eldest of eight children[1] of Jacobus van der Waals, a carpenter, and his wife, Elisabeth van den Burg. As a result, van der Waals was unable to attend a formal secondary school that taught latin and greek, but he did complete an extended elementary school education. He was able to obtain teaching licenses by studying on his own and passing standard tests.
A career in teaching
Van der Waals taught primary school from 1856 to 1861,[2] and from 1862 to 1865 he studied mathematics and physics at the University of Leyden[3]. In 1864, he obtained a position at a high school in Deventer, teaching mathematics and physics. The following year, he was married to Anna Magdalena Smit. The couple had three daughters and a son: Anne Madeleine; Jacqueline Elisabeth, who became a poet; Johanna Diderica; and Johannes Diderik Jr., who followed his father's footsteps and became a physicist.
In 1866 van der Waals removed to the Hague, where he taught at a high school, eventually becoming its headmasster. He continued to study advanced mathematics and physics at the University of Leyden, but because of his lack of a formal secondary school education, had to obtain an exemption in order to proceed with a doctoral program. The state eventually dropped the classical language requirements, the lack of which had prevented him from taking the requisite examinations. Studying under Pieter Rijke, he was awarded a doctorate in 1873 based on a dissertation that quickly caught the attention of the international scientific community.
The van der Waals equation of state
Van der Waals's thesis was entitled Over de Continuïteit van den Gas- en Vloeistoftoestand (On the continuity of the gas and liquid state). In this thesis he derived the equation of state bearing his name. The importance of this work is that it gave a model in which the liquid and the gas phase of a substance merge into each other in a continuous manner. It shows that the two phases are in fact of the same nature. In deriving his equation of state van der Waals assumed not only the existence of molecules (which in physics was disputed at the time), but also that they are of finite size and attract each other. Since he was one of the first to postulate an intermolecular force, however rudimentary, such a force is now sometimes called a van der Waals force.
One of the conclusions that could be drawn from van der Waals's research was that there reaches a critical temperature for a gas above which it is impossible to condense the gas into a liquid.
Van der Waals found his incentive for his life's work after reading the 1857 treatise by Rudolf Clausius entitled Über die Art der Bewegung welche wir Wärme nennen (On the Kind of Motion which we Call Heat).[4], along with other papers and books by Clausius. Van der Waals was later greatly influenced by the writings of James Maxwell, Ludwig Boltzmann, and Willard Gibbs, who were all working on similar problems in the kinetic theory of gases.
Reaction of the scientific community
It did not take long for the scientific community to latch onto the new results. Maxwell, who had already developed his own theory on the motion of molecules in a gas, praised van der Waals for his work. "This at once puts his name among the foremost in science," Maxwell said in Nature magazine a year after van der Waals's dissertation was published.
Based on his equation of state, van der Waals was able to estimate the size of a hydrogen molecule.
Accolades quickly followed. In 1875, he was admitted as a member to the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 1877, he was appointed professor of physics at the University of Amsterdam.
New law revealed
A second great discovery of van der Waals was published in 1880: The Law of Corresponding States. This law shows, that after scaling temperature, pressure, and volume by their respective critical values, a general form of the equation of state is obtained which is applicable to all substances. This law served as a guide during the experiments that led to the liquefaction of helium by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. A decade later he was able to address the situation of a material composed of a mixture of two substances.
In 1881, van der Waals installed new laboratory facilities in Amsterdam. Although he was keenly interested in the experimental side of physics, it is said that he did not conduct experiments himself, but generally used the services of an assistant. Throughout the 1880s, he was in close communication with Kamerlingh Onnes, who was conducting experiments on the liquification and solidification of gases at very low temperatures.
Later years
Van der Waals remained active with the Royal Society throughout his career, and served as its secretary from 1896 to 1912. In 1898, he had all papers submitted to the society translated into english so that they would reach a wider audience.
He retired from the University of Amsterdam in 1908[5].
For his work on the behavior of liquids and gases, he won the 1910 Nobel Prize in physics.
Van der Waals died in Amsterdam in 1923.
Legacy
Van der Waals joins a long list of scientists who were high school teachers when they made major contributions to their fields. In spite of his lack of formal schooling, Van der Waals shows persistence in the face of adversity,and didn't complete his doctorate until he was in his 30s.
See also
- Van der Waals equation
- Van der Waals forces
- Van der Waals radius
Notes
- ↑ Mitchell, Brian S. 2004. An introduction to materials engineering and science for chemical and materials engineers. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. 12. ISBN 0471436232.
- ↑ Mitchell, 12.
- ↑ Ekspong, Gösta, Tore Frängsmyr, and S. Lundquist. 1992. Physics. Nobel lectures, including presentation speeches and laureates' biographies. Singapore: River Edge, NJ. 266. ISBN 9810207263.
- ↑ Van der Waals, Johannes, D. 1910. The Equation of State for Gases and Liquids. Nobel Lecture. Retrieved December 7, 2007.
- ↑ Mitchell, 12
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Ekspong, Gösta, Tore Frängsmyr, and S. Lundquist. 1992. Physics. Nobel lectures, including presentation speeches and laureates' biographies. Singapore: River Edge, NJ. 266. ISBN 9810207263.
- Prins, J.A. 1990. Waals, Johannes Diderik van der. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 109-111. ISBN 0684169622.
- Berkel, Klaas van, Albert Van Helden, and L. C. Palm. 1999. A history of science in the Netherlands survey, themes, and reference. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9004100067.
- Kipnis, Aleksandr Yakovlevich and Boris Efimovich Yavelov, and John Shipley Rowlinson. 1996. Van der Waals and Molecular Science. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-855210-6.
- Sengers, Johanna Levelt. 2003. How Fluids Unmix: Discoveries by the School of Van der Waals and Kamerlingh Onnes. Amsterdam, NL: Koninklijke Nerlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen. ISBN 9069843579.
- Parsegian, V. Adrian. 2006. Van der Waals Forces: A Handbook for Biologists, Chemists, Engineers, and Physicists. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521839068.
External links
- Scientists of the Dutch School Van der Waals, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved December 8, 2007.
- Albert van Helden Johannes Diderik van der Waals 1837 – 1923 In: K. van Berkel, A. van Helden and L. Palm ed., A history of Science in the Netherlands. Survey, Themes and Reference (Leiden: Brill, 1999) 596 - 598. Retrieved December 8, 2007.
- Johannes Diderik van der Waals. Biography at Nobelprize.org. Retrieved December 8, 2007.
- Biography of Johannes Diderik van der Waals (1837 – 1923) at the National library of the Netherlands. Retrieved December 8, 2007.
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Waals, Johannes van der |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Physicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 23, 1837 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leiden, Netherlands |
| DATE OF DEATH | Diederik Korteweg |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
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