Josiah Willard Gibbs

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Josiah Willard Gibbs

Josiah Willard Gibbs (born February 11, 1839 in New Haven , Connecticut , † April 28, 1903 there ) was an American physicist .

Live and act

Gibbs studied math and science at the University of New Haven. From 1863 to 1866 he was a tutor at Yale College. He then went to Europe and continued his studies in Paris , Berlin and Heidelberg . In 1871 Gibbs was appointed professor at Yale University in New Haven.

Between 1876 and 1878 he wrote a series of articles entitled On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances , which is considered to be one of the greatest achievements in 19th century physics and is considered to be the foundation of physical chemistry . In these articles, Gibbs applied thermodynamics to interpret physicochemical phenomena. One of the theorems discussed is Gibbs' phase rule . Gibbs' article on thermodynamics appeared in the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy . On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances was translated into German in 1891 and into French in 1899; the doctrines contained therein became known and applied in Europe. They found particular distribution through the experimental work of HW Bakhuis Roozeboom . In 1879 he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, in 1880 the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge , Massachusetts and in 1895 the American Philosophical Society . From 1897 he was a foreign member of the Royal Society and from 1900 a corresponding member of the Académie des sciences .

Gibbs also excelled in statistical mechanics , vector analysis, and the electromagnetic theory of light . His Scientific Papers (1906) and Collected Works (1928) were collected and published after his death. Gibbs got into vector analysis trying to understand the use of quaternions in Maxwell's Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism . He developed the vector concept independently of Hermann Grassmann , but recognized its priority. His books on vector analysis were published in 1881 and 1884. With Oliver Heaviside he was one of the main forces that led to the implementation of the vector calculus over the quaternion calculus at the end of the 19th century.

For vector analysis , Gibbs created a method that significantly simplified mathematical developments, which at the time greatly advanced the theoretical treatment of Maxwell's electrodynamics .

He also defined the Gibbs energy G = U + p V - TS at constant temperature and constant pressure, which is also known as free enthalpy.

The Gibbs phenomenon , the Gibbs paradox , the Gibbs-Duhem equation , and the Gibbs-Helmholtz equation are named after him. He introduced the term ensemble to statistical mechanics, where the Canonical Ensemble is now also known as the Gibbs Ensemble.

The Willard Gibbs Medal of the American Chemical Society bears his name and the Gibbs Lecture of the American Mathematical Society . In addition, the lunar crater Gibbs and the asteroid (2937) Gibbs are named after him.

literature

  • Martin J. Klein : Gibbs, Josiah Willard . In: Charles Coulston Gillispie (Ed.): Dictionary of Scientific Biography . tape 5 : Emil Fischer - Gottlieb Haberlandt . Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1972, p. 386-393 .
  • Lynde Phelps Wheeler Josiah Willard Gibbs. The history of a great mind , Yale University Press 1951
  • Muriel Rukeyser Willard Gibbs , Doubleday 1942, 1967
  • Raymond J. Seeger J. Willard Gibbs. American mathematical physicist par excellence , Oxford, New York: Pergamon Press 1974
  • Frederick George Donnan, Arthur Haas (editor) A commentary on the scientific writings of J. Willard Gibbs , 2 volumes, New Haven 1936, New York: Arno Press 1980
  • DG Caldi, GD Mostow (Editor) Proceedings of the Gibbs Symposium , Yale University, 15. – 17. May 1989, American Mathematical Society 1990
    • Therein: Martin J. Klein The physics of J Willard Gibbs in his time , pp. 1-21
  • Martin J. Klein The scientific style of Josiah Willard Gibbs , in: A century of mathematics in America , Volume 2, American Mathematical Society, 1989, pp. 99-119.

Fonts

  • Elementary principles of statistical mechanics, Dover 1960
    • German edition: Elementary basics of statistical mechanics, Teubner 1905 (edited by Ernst Zermelo )
  • Edward Bidwell Wilson Vector Analysis. A text-book for the use of students. Founded upon the lectures of JW Gibbs , Yale University Press 1901
  • WR Longley, RG Van Name (editor) The collected works of J. Willard Gibbs , New York: Longmans, Green and Company, 2 volumes, 1928, Yale University Press 1948, 1957
  • HA Bunstead, RG Van Name (editor) The scientific papers of J. Willard Gibbs , 2 volumes, New York: Dover 1961

Web links

Commons : Josiah Willard Gibbs  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Member History: Josiah Willard Gibbs. American Philosophical Society, accessed August 18, 2018 .
  2. ^ Entry on Gibbs, Josiah Willard (1839-1903) in the archives of the Royal Society , London
  3. ^ List of members since 1666: Letter G. Académie des sciences, accessed on November 18, 2019 (French).
  4. ^ Michael Crowe, A history of vector analysis, University of Notre Dame Press 1967, Dover Reprint 1985
  5. ↑ MPC / Minor Planet Circ. 8544
personal data
SURNAME Gibbs, Josiah Willard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American physicist
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH New Haven
DATE OF DEATH April 28, 1903
Place of death New Haven