Johannes Diderik van der Waals

Johannes Diderik van der Waals (Dutch: [joːˈɦɑnəz ˈdidərɪk fɑn dər ˈʋaːls] ⓘ; 23 November 1837 – 8 March 1923) was a Dutch <a href="/facts/Physicist/cQcgvSIm">physicist</a> who received the <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Nobel Prize in Physics</a> in 1910 "for his work on the <a href="/facts/Equation_of_state/tLILkepz">equation of state</a> for <a href="/facts/Gas/hVVAoodV">gases</a> and <a href="/facts/Liquid/t9GkLWzt">liquids</a>". Van der Waals started his career as a schoolteacher. He became the first <a href="/facts/Physics/a7aH2y08">physics</a> professor of the <a href="/facts/University_of_Amsterdam/VqQ6q6QK">University of Amsterdam</a> when its status was upgraded to Municipal University in 1877.
His name is primarily associated with the <a href="/facts/Van_der_Waals_equation/HTNIbJDn">Van der Waals equation</a> of <a href="/facts/Equation_of_state/tLILkepz">state</a> that describes the behavior of gases and their condensation to the liquid <a href="/facts/Phase_(matter)/NkHXDdN3">phase</a>. His name is also associated with <a href="/facts/Van_der_Waals_forces/jyGU8Vh9">Van der Waals forces</a> (forces between stable <a href="/facts/Molecules/N9ljSfFq">molecules</a>), with <a href="/facts/Van_der_Waals_molecule/qcmsRbu0">Van der Waals molecules</a> (small molecular clusters bound by Van der Waals forces), and with <a href="/facts/Van_der_Waals_radius/PNoSTW41">Van der Waals radii</a> (sizes of molecules). <a href="/facts/James_Clerk_Maxwell/jtYyze61">James Clerk Maxwell</a> once said that, "there can be no doubt that the name of Van der Waals will soon be among the foremost in <a href="/facts/Molecular_science/ArRhIjdY">molecular science</a>."
In his 1873 thesis, Van der Waals noted the <a href="/facts/Ideal_gas/80EfYGFj">non-ideality</a> of <a href="/facts/Real_gases/Lne2E6dL">real gases</a> and attributed it to the existence of <a href="/facts/Intermolecular_interactions/xIcFMvL7">intermolecular interactions</a>. He introduced the first <a href="/facts/Equation_of_state/tLILkepz">equation of state</a> derived by the assumption of a finite volume occupied by the constituent molecules. Spearheaded by <a href="/facts/Ernst_Mach/gfSFynYK">Ernst Mach</a> and <a href="/facts/Wilhelm_Ostwald/Abr7Rppg">Wilhelm Ostwald</a>, a strong philosophical current that denied the existence of <a href="/facts/Molecules/N9ljSfFq">molecules</a> arose towards the end of the 19th century. The molecular existence was considered unproven and the molecular hypothesis unnecessary. At the time Van der Waals's thesis was written (1873), the <a href="/facts/Molecular_structure/N9ljSfFq">molecular structure</a> of <a href="/facts/Fluids/tMQ46Tmz">fluids</a> had not been accepted by most physicists, and <a href="/facts/Liquid/t9GkLWzt">liquid</a> and <a href="/facts/Vapor/PLlojGug">vapor</a> were often considered as chemically distinct. But Van der Waals's work affirmed the reality of molecules and allowed an assessment of their size and <a href="/facts/Van_der_Waals_forces/jyGU8Vh9">attractive strength</a>. His new formula revolutionized the study of equations of state. By comparing <a href="/facts/Van_der_Waals_equation_of_state/HTNIbJDn">his equation of state</a> with experimental data, Van der Waals was able to obtain estimates for the actual size of molecules and the strength of <a href="/facts/Van_der_Waals_forces/jyGU8Vh9">their mutual attraction</a>.
The effect of Van der Waals's work on <a href="/facts/Molecular_physics/ArRhIjdY">molecular physics</a> in the 20th century was direct and fundamental. By <a href="/facts/Van_der_Waals_constants_(data_page)/1ScqgXc4">introducing parameters</a> characterizing molecular size and attraction in constructing his <a href="/facts/Equation_of_state/tLILkepz">equation of state</a>, Van der Waals set the tone for modern <a href="/facts/Molecular_science/ArRhIjdY">molecular science</a>. That molecular aspects such as size, shape, attraction, and <a href="/facts/Intermolecular_force/xIcFMvL7">multipolar interactions</a> should form the basis for mathematical formulations of the thermodynamic and transport properties of <a href="/facts/Fluids/tMQ46Tmz">fluids</a> is presently considered an axiom. With the help of the Van der Waals's equation of state, the critical-point parameters of gases could be accurately predicted from thermodynamic measurements made at much higher temperatures. <a href="/facts/Liquid_nitrogen/IGWI1h00">Nitrogen</a>, <a href="/facts/Liquid_oxygen/qnI0KDTb">oxygen</a>, <a href="/facts/Liquid_hydrogen/Vpk3Gb8P">hydrogen</a>, and <a href="/facts/Liquid_helium/JYXCAcDf">helium</a> subsequently succumbed to <a href="/facts/Liquefaction_of_gases/sHp15Rbe">liquefaction</a>. <a href="/facts/Heike_Kamerlingh_Onnes/bJk48dFD">Heike Kamerlingh Onnes</a> was significantly influenced by the pioneering work of Van der Waals. In 1908, Onnes became the first to make <a href="/facts/Liquid_helium/JYXCAcDf">liquid helium</a>; this led directly to his 1911 discovery of <a href="/facts/Superconductivity/pqQAlSzJ">superconductivity</a>.

Johannes Diderik van der Waals open-in-new

Johannes Diderik van der Waals