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Walther Nernst
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Walther Hermann Nernst (25 June 1864 – 18 November 1941) was a German physical chemist who is known for his theories behind the calculation of chemical affinity as embodied in the third law of thermodynamics, for which he won the 1920 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Nernst helped establish the modern field of physical chemistry and contributed to electrochemistry, thermodynamics, solid state chemistry and photochemistry. He is also known for developing the Nernst equation.
st was born in Briesen in West Prussia (now Wabrzezno, Poland), and although he considered himself as German, his mother was Polish He studied physics and mathematics at the universities of Zürich, Berlin and Graz.
r some work at Leipzig, he founded the Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry at Göttingen.
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Encyclopedia
Walther Hermann Nernst (25 June 1864 – 18 November 1941) was a German physical chemist who is known for his theories behind the calculation of chemical affinity as embodied in the third law of thermodynamics, for which he won the 1920 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Nernst helped establish the modern field of physical chemistry and contributed to electrochemistry, thermodynamics, solid state chemistry and photochemistry. He is also known for developing the Nernst equation.
Biography
Early years
Nernst was born in Briesen in West Prussia (now Wabrzezno, Poland), and although he considered himself as German, his mother was Polish He studied physics and mathematics at the universities of Zürich, Berlin and Graz.
Career
After some work at Leipzig, he founded the Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry at Göttingen. Nernst invented, in 1897 an electric lamp, using an incandescent ceramic rod. His invention that known as the Nernst lamp, was the the successor to the carbon lamp and the precursor to the incandescent lamp. Nernst researched osmotic pressure and electrochemistry. In 1905, he established what he referred to as his "New Heat Theorem", later known as the Third law of thermodynamics (which describes the behavior of matter as temperatures approach absolute zero). This is the work for which he is best remembered, as it provided a means of determining free energies (and therefore equilibrium points) of chemical reactions from heat measurements. Theodore Richards claimed Nernst had stolen the idea from him, but Nernst is almost universally credited with the discovery.
In 1920, he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in recognition of his work in thermochemistry. In 1924, he became director of the Institute of Physical Chemistry at Berlin, a position from which he retired in 1933. Nernst went on to work in electroacoustics and astrophysics.
Nernst developed an electric piano, the "Neo-Bechstein-Flügel" in 1930 in association with the Bechstein and Siemens companies, replacing the sounding board with radio amplifiers. The piano used electromagnetic pickups to produce electronically modified and amplified sound in the same way as an electric guitar.
His device, a solid-body radiator with a filament of rare-earth oxides, and would later be known as the Nernst glower, is important in the field of infra-red spectroscopy. Continuous ohmic heating of the filament results in conduction. The glower operates best in wavelengths from two to 14 micrometers.
Personal life
Nernst married in 1892 to Emma Lohmeyer with whom he had two sons and three daughters. He was a vocal critic of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, and two daughters married Jewish men. In 1933, the rise of Nazism led to the end of Nernst's career as a scientist. Nernst died in 1941 and is buried near Max Planck in Göttingen, Germany.
Publications
- Walther Nernst, "Reasoning of theoretical chemistry: Nine papers (1889-1921)" (Ger., Begründung der Theoretischen Chemie : Neun Abhandlungen, 1889-1921). Frankfurt am Main : Verlag Harri Deutsch, c. 2003. ISBN 3817132905
- Walther Nernst, "The theoretical and experimental bases of the New Heat Theorem" (Ger., Die theoretischen und experimentellen Grundlagen des neuen Wärmesatzes). Halle [Ger.] W. Knapp, 1918 [tr. 1926]. [ed., this is a list of thermodynamical papers from the physico-chemical institute of the University of Berlin (1906-1916); Translation available by Guy Barr
- Walther Nernst, "Theoretical chemistry from the standpoint of Avogadro's rule and thermodynamics" (Ger., Theoretische Chemie vom Standpunkte der Avogadroschen Regel und der Thermodynamik). Stuttgart, F. Enke, 1893 [5th edition, 1923].
See also
Further reading
External links
- Review of Diana Barkan's Walther Nernst and the Transition to Modern Physical Science
- "Hermann Walther Nernst, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1920 : ". Presentation Speech by Professor Gerard de Geer, President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- Schmitt, Ulrich, "". Physicochemical institute, Göttingen
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