Walther Nernst and the Transition to Modern Physical ScienceOne of Germany's most important, productive and often controversial scientists, Walther H. Nernst (1864-1941) was at once the first "modern" physical chemist, an able scientific organizer and a savvy entrepreneur. The winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Nernst was a key figure in the transition to modern physical science with his contributions to the study of solutions, of chemical equilibria, and of the behavior of matter at the extremes of the temperature range. This volume provides a scientific biography of the man who was a director of major research institutes, the rector of the Berlin University, and the inventor of a new electric lamp. It also addresses the work of many prominent scientists, such as Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Wilhelm Ostwald and Svante Arrhenius. A wealth of new archival material and recent scholarship reveals how Nernst's career exemplified the increasing connection between the German technical industry and academic science, between theory and experiment, between concepts and practice, providing a rich portrait of the history of science in the period preceding the Second World War. This book also details a set of specific scientific problems that evolved at the intersection of physics, chemistry and technology during one of the most revolutionary periods of modern physical science. |
Contents
Nernst the Historiography of His Science and Its Context | 1 |
Beginnings | 21 |
The Early Researches | 41 |
The Göttingen Years | 58 |
The NernstPlanck Exchange | 77 |
The Electrolytic Lamp | 91 |
High Temperatures and the Heat Theorem | 110 |
Theory and the Heat Theorem | 132 |
Other editions - View all
Walther Nernst and the Transition to Modern Physical Science Diana Kormos Barkan Limited preview - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
absolute zero Academy affinity applied Archives Arrhenius Papers Arrhenius's atomic Berlin Berthelot Boltzmann calculation calorimeter carbon century Chem chemical equilibria chemical reactions chemists collaborators conceptions decades discussed dissociation Einstein elec electrical conductivity electrochemical electrochemistry electrolytic electromotive forces electrons energy entropy equation Ettingshausen experimental experiments filament formula gases German Göttingen Haber heat theorem Helmholtz high temperatures Hoff's hydrogen Ibid important incandescent industry institute instrument investigations ions Kamerlingh Onnes kinetic Kohlrausch laboratory later lecture Leipzig light Lindemann liquid low temperatures measurements ments metal method molecules Nernst lamp Nobel Prize osmotic pressure Ostwald phenomena phys physical chemistry physical-chemical physicists Physikalische Planck platinum problem produced published quantum hypothesis quantum theory radiation resistance scientific scientists solid solution Solvay Congress solvent Sommerfeld specific heats studies substances Svante Arrhenius theoretical thermochemistry tion University van't Hoff vapor Walther Nernst Wilhelm Wilhelm Ostwald wrote Zeitschr