Walther Nernst: Pioneer Of Physics, And Of Chemistry
Walther Nernst: Pioneer Of Physics, And Of Chemistry

Author: Hans-georg Bartel

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2007-10-26

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 9814479055

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More than 100 years ago, in 1905, Walther Nernst discovered the Third Law of Thermodynamics, thus completing this fundamental theory. In 1920 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The book describes the life of this pioneer of science, his major stations being Graz, then Göttingen, and finally Berlin. Also presented is a lively account of the development of low temperature physics by Nernst during the early days of quantum theory, when he was in Berlin, closely associated with Albert Einstein, Max Planck, and Max von Laue.The book outlines the specific advances achieved by Nernst in the thermodynamic concepts of theoretical chemistry. Written for a general readership, it can also serve as a supplement for courses in physics and chemistry. In addition to the role of science in the life of Nernst, the impact of the political turmoil in Germany before and after the advent of the 20th century is also told.

The Soul of Genius
The Soul of Genius

Author: Jeffrey Orens

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2021-07-06

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1643137158

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A prismatic look at the meeting of Marie Curie and Albert Einstein and the impact these two pillars of science had on the world of physics, which was in turmoil. In 1911, some of the greatest minds in science convened at the First Solvay Conference in Physics, a meeting like no other. Almost half of the attendees had won or would go on to win the Nobel Prize. Over the course of those few days, these minds began to realize that classical physics was about to give way to quantum theory, a seismic shift in our history and how we understand not just our world, but the universe. At the center of this meeting were Marie Curie and a young Albert Einstein. In the years preceding, Curie had faced the death of her husband and soul mate, Pierre. She was on the cusp of being awarded her second Nobel Prize, but scandal erupted all around her when the French press revealed that she was having an affair with a fellow scientist, Paul Langevin. The subject of vicious misogynist and xenophobic attacks in the French press, Curie found herself in a storm that threatened her scientific legacy. Albert Einstein proved an supporter in her travails. They had an instant connection at Solvay. He was young and already showing flourishes of his enormous genius. Curie had been responsible for one of the greatest discoveries in modern science (radioactivity) but still faced resistance and scorn. Einstein recognized this grave injustice, and their mutual admiration and respect, borne out of this, their first meeting, would go on to serve them in their paths forward to making history. Curie and Einstein come alive as the complex people they were in the pages of The Soul of Genius. Utilizing never before seen correspondance and notes, Jeffrey Orens reveals the human side of these brilliant scientists, one who pushed boundaries and demanded equality in a man’s world, no matter the cost, and the other, who was destined to become synonymous with genius.

Cathedrals of Science
Cathedrals of Science

Author: Patrick Coffey

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2008-08-29

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0199886547

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In Cathedrals of Science, Patrick Coffey describes how chemistry got its modern footing-how thirteen brilliant men and one woman struggled with the laws of the universe and with each other. They wanted to discover how the world worked, but they also wanted credit for making those discoveries, and their personalities often affected how that credit was assigned. Gilbert Lewis, for example, could be reclusive and resentful, and his enmity with Walther Nernst may have cost him the Nobel Prize; Irving Langmuir, gregarious and charming, "rediscovered" Lewis's theory of the chemical bond and received much of the credit for it. Langmuir's personality smoothed his path to the Nobel Prize over Lewis. Coffey deals with moral and societal issues as well. These same scientists were the first to be seen by their countries as military assets. Fritz Haber, dubbed the "father of chemical warfare," pioneered the use of poison gas in World War I-vividly described-and Glenn Seaborg and Harold Urey were leaders in World War II's Manhattan Project; Urey and Linus Pauling worked for nuclear disarmament after the war. Science was not always fair, and many were excluded. The Nazis pushed Jewish scientists like Haber from their posts in the 1930s. Anti-Semitism was also a force in American chemistry, and few women were allowed in; Pauling, for example, used his influence to cut off the funding and block the publications of his rival, Dorothy Wrinch. Cathedrals of Science paints a colorful portrait of the building of modern chemistry from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.

The World of Walther Nernst: The Rise and Fall of German Science 1864-1941
The World of Walther Nernst: The Rise and Fall of German Science 1864-1941

Author: Kurt Mendelssohn

Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press

Published: 2019-08-17

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13:

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At the end of the 19th century, under the benevolent patronage of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany became home to new scientific and technological ideas. In German universities, innovators like Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli and Walther Nernst revolutionized physics and chemistry with their theories of relativity, of the atomic structure and of the quanta. Walther Nernst, a founder of physical chemistry, received the Nobel prize in 1920 for his formulation of the third law of thermodynamics. He died in 1941 in Germany, disillusioned by Hitler’s destruction of German academic life. This biography of Walther Nernst, the author’s mentor, also provides an overview of German science and technology, from its stellar rise to its rapid fall when the Nazis came to power and the vast majority of German scientists went into exile to Britain (like the author), to the United States or elsewhere to continue the tradition and spirit of the scientific revolutions started in Germany’s institutions of higher learning. “A masterly description of the spectacular rise of German science and industry at the turn of the century and of life in Germany in the pre-1933 era.” — The Times (London) “Mendelssohn’s... fascinating book... is a study of the rise and fall of German science as well as a life of Walther Nernst... as he shows, the ‘mad fanaticism’ of the Nazis blinded them, and blinded them completely, to the enormous scientific potential they had inherited in the laboratories of Weimar Germany.” — Roger Williams, Encounter

How James Watt Invented the Copier
How James Watt Invented the Copier

Author: René Schils

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-12-14

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 1461408598

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Features 25 different scientists and the ideas which may not have made them famous, but made history... Typically, we remember our greatest scientists from one single invention, one new formula or one incredible breakthrough. This narrow perspective does not give justice to the versatility of many scientists who also earned a reputation in other areas of science. James Watt, for instance, is known for inventing the steam engine, yet most people do not know that he also invented the copier. Alexander Graham Bell of course invented the telephone, but only few know that he invented artificial breathing equipment, a prototype of the ‘iron lung’. Edmond Halley, whose name is associated with the comet that visits Earth every 75 years, produced the first mortality tables, used for life insurances. This entertaining book is aimed at anyone who enjoys reading about inventions and discoveries by the most creative minds. Detailed illustrations of the forgotten designs and ideas enrich the work throughout.

Planck
Planck

Author: Brandon R. Brown

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0190219475

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Brown interweaves the voices and writings of Planck, his family, and his contemporaries--with many passages appearing in English for the first time--to create a portrait of a groundbreaking physicist working in the midst of war. Planck spent much of his adult life grappling with the identity crisis of being an influential German with ideas that ran counter to his government. During the later part of his life, he survived bombings and battlefields, surgeries and blood transfusions, all the while performing his influential work amidst a violent and crumbling Nazi bureaucracy. When his son was accused of treason related to a bombing, Planck tried to use his standing as a German 'national treasure,' and wrote direct letters to Hitler to spare his son's life. Brown tells the story of Planck's friendship with the far more outspoken Albert Einstein, and shows how his work fits within the explosion of technology and science that occurred during his life.

Understanding Voltammetry
Understanding Voltammetry

Author: R. G. Compton

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 9812706259

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Considers how to go about designing, explaining and interpreting experiments centered around various forms of voltammetry (cyclic, microelectrode, hydrodynamic, and so on). This book gives introductions to the theories of electron transfer and of diffusion. It also introduces convection and describes hydrodynamic electrodes.

Total War and Twentieth-century Higher Learning
Total War and Twentieth-century Higher Learning

Author: Willis Rudy

Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9780838634097

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This is a study of the history of universities in the twentieth century and of the ways in which the universities of Britain, France, Germany, and the United States were affected by the cataclysmic events of the First and Second World Wars.