Théophile de Donder
Encyclopedia
Théophile Ernest de Donder (1872 – 1957) was a Belgian mathematician and physicist famous for his 1923 work in developing correlations between the Newtonian concept of chemical affinity
Chemical affinity
In chemical physics and physical chemistry, chemical affinity is the electronic property by which dissimilar chemical species are capable of forming chemical compounds...

 and the Gibbsian concept of free energy
Gibbs free energy
In thermodynamics, the Gibbs free energy is a thermodynamic potential that measures the "useful" or process-initiating work obtainable from a thermodynamic system at a constant temperature and pressure...

.

Education

He received his doctorate in physics and mathematics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles
Université Libre de Bruxelles
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...

 in 1899, for a thesis entitled Sur la Théorie des Invariants Intégraux (On the Theory of Integral Invariants).

Career

He was professor between 1911 and 1942, at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
Université Libre de Bruxelles
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...

. Initially he continued the work of Henri Poincaré
Henri Poincaré
Jules Henri Poincaré was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and a philosopher of science...

 and Élie Cartan
Élie Cartan
Élie Joseph Cartan was an influential French mathematician, who did fundamental work in the theory of Lie groups and their geometric applications...

. As from 1914 he was influenced by the work of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...

 and was an enthusiastic proponent of the theory of relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....

. He gained significant reputation in 1923, when he developed his definition of chemical affinity
Chemical affinity
In chemical physics and physical chemistry, chemical affinity is the electronic property by which dissimilar chemical species are capable of forming chemical compounds...

. He pointed out a connection between the chemical affinity
Chemical affinity
In chemical physics and physical chemistry, chemical affinity is the electronic property by which dissimilar chemical species are capable of forming chemical compounds...

 and the Gibbs free energy
Gibbs free energy
In thermodynamics, the Gibbs free energy is a thermodynamic potential that measures the "useful" or process-initiating work obtainable from a thermodynamic system at a constant temperature and pressure...

.

He is considered the father of thermodynamics
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...

 of irreversible processes. De Donder’s work was later developed further by Ilya Prigogine
Ilya Prigogine
Ilya, Viscount Prigogine was a Russian-born naturalized Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility.-Biography :...

. De Donder was an associate and friend of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...

.

Books by De Donder

  • Thermodynamic Theory of Affinity: A Book of Principles. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press (1936)
  • The Mathematical Theory of Relativity. Cambridge, MA: MIT (1927)
  • Sur la théorie des invariants intégraux (thesis) (1899).
  • Théorie du champ électromagnétique de Maxwell-Lorentz et du champ gravifique d'Einstein (1917)
  • La gravifique Einsteinienne (1921)
  • Introduction à la gravifique einsteinienne (1925)
  • Théorie mathématique de l'électricité (1925)
  • Théorie des champs gravifiques (1926)
  • Application de la gravifique einsteinienne (1930)
  • Théorie invariantive du calcul des variations (1931)

See also

  • Chemical affinity
    Chemical affinity
    In chemical physics and physical chemistry, chemical affinity is the electronic property by which dissimilar chemical species are capable of forming chemical compounds...

  • Chemical thermodynamics
    Chemical thermodynamics
    Chemical thermodynamics is the study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with physical changes of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics...

  • de Donder Gauge
    Harmonic coordinate condition
    The harmonic coordinate condition is one of several coordinate conditions in general relativity, which make it possible to solve the Einstein field equations. A coordinate system is said to satisfy the harmonic coordinate condition if each of the coordinate functions xα satisfies d'Alembert's...

  • De Donder–Weyl theory
    De Donder–Weyl theory
    The De Donder–Weyl theory is a formalism in the calculus of variations over spacetime which treats the space and time coordinates on equal footing. In this framework, a field is represented as a system that varies both in space and in time....


External links

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