Heike Kamerlingh Onnes and the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1913: The Highest Honor for the Lowest Temperatures
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Physics in Perspective
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes and the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1913: The Highest Honor for the Lowest Temperatures Simo´n Reif-Acherman* One century ago this year the Dutch experimental physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853–1926) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in low-temperature physics, in particular for his production of liquid helium. I trace the route to his Nobel Prize within the context of his and his colleagues’ research in his laboratory at the University of Leiden, and in light of his nominators and the nominations he received in the five years 1909–1913.
Key words: Heike Kamerlingh Onnes; Johannes Diderik van der Waals; Knut ˚ ngstro¨m; Edmond-Marie-Lambert van Aubel; Jean Becquerel; Henry Le Johan A Chatelier; Claude A. Crommelin; Vincenz Czerny; Nils Gustaf Dale´n; James Dewar; Willem Henri Julius; Willem H. Keesom; Philipp Lenard; Carl von Linde; Hendrik Antoon Lorentz; Ernst Mach; E´mile O.J. Mathias; Hantaro Nagaoka; Wladyslaw Natanson; Karol Olszewski; Friedrich C.A. Pockels; Emil Warburg; Pierre Weiss; August Witkowski; Constanty Zakrzewski; Pieter Zeeman; University of Leiden; Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; Nobel Prize; liquefaction of helium; superconductivity; cryogenics; low-temperature physics; history of physics. I dedicate my paper to my mother, whose unconditional love, tireless devotion, and priceless and dear companionship were and forever will be the greatest blessings in my life.
Introduction One century ago this year the Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853–1926, figure 1) received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his low-temperature experiments that led, in particular, to his production of liquid helium in 1908. His achievement marked the birth of the field of cryogenics and opened the door to his
* Simo´n Reif-Acherman is Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia. His interests in history of science and technology include biographical studies and developments of scientific concepts and theories in physics and chemistry.
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Fig. 1. Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853–1926) Credit: Courtesy of the Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden Institute of Physics, University of Leiden.
discovery of superconductivity in 1911, which has been widely treated in the literature.1 I first discuss Kamerlingh Onnes’s educational background and the founding of his laboratory at the University of Leiden and then turn to the circumstances that led to his Nobel Prize, setting them within the context of the state of physics at the time, the Nobel Prize criteria and procedures, and the nominations he and other nominees received during the five years 1909 to 1913.
Through Measurement to Knowledge Heike Kamerlingh Onnes was born on September 21, 1853, in Groningen and matriculated at the University of Groningen in 1870, studying physics and mathematics. He passed the examination for the bachelor’s degree the following year and then studied for three semesters under Robert Bunsen (1811
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