Walther Nernst and the Transition to Modern Physical Science

A 1999 biography of one of Germany's most important scientists (active 1890–1933) and an historical examination of physics and chemistry.

Diana Kormos Barkan (Author)

9780521444569, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 January 1999

302 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.61 kg

Review of the hardback: '… a valuable and interesting book.' Ambix

Primarily a scientific biography of Walther H. Nernst (1864–1941), one of Germany's most important, productive and often controversial scientists, this 1999 book addresses 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. Nernst, who won the 1920 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, was a key figure in the transition to a modern physical science, contributing to the study of solutions, of chemical equilibria, and of the behavior of matter at the extremes of the temperature range. A director of major research institutes, rector of the Berlin University, and inventor of a new electric lamp, Nernst was the first 'modern' physical chemist, an able scientific organizer, and a savvy entrepreneur. His career exemplified the increasing connection between German technical industry and academic science, between theory and experiment, and between concepts and practice.

Preface and acknowledgments
1. The invention of identity
2. Beginning
3. The early researchers
4. The Göttingen years
5. The Nernst-Planck exchange
6. Electricity and iron
7. High temperatures and the heat theorem
8. Theory and heat theory
9. Berlin and low temperatures
10. The incorporation of the quantum theory
11. The witches Sabbath: the Solvay Congress
12. The Nobel Prize
Conclusion
Bibliography
Notes
Index.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX]