Giauque (Giauque), William F.

May 12, 1895, Mr.. - March 20, 1982
American chemist William Francis Giauque was born in g. Foley Niagara, Ontario, Canada, and was the eldest of three sons of Isabella Jane Giauque (nee Duncan) and William Tecumseh Sherman Giauque, who had U.S. citizenship. Before 1908. family lived in Michigan, but after the death of his father D. They returned to Canada. After Niagara Folsskogo academic institution D. within two years he worked in the laboratory of the company 'Hooker elektrokemikal' in Niagara-Foley. continued basic research under the guidance of the eminent chemist GN. Lewis and G.E. - Adjunct professor, in 1934 g. - Complete (valid) professor and in 1962 g. - Honorary professor.
Interests D. concentrated on properties and behavior matter at ultralow temperatures, on areas science that touched principles termodinamiki. Termodinamika examines properties of systems in equilibrium conditions and transformation heat into mechanical, chemical and electrical energy. This sect fiziki was developed in XIX in. in the process of constructing efficient cars, in which hot gases are used to carry out useful work.
First law of thermodynamics, ie. law of conservation of energy states that energy can move from one form to another, but can neither appear nor disappear. Second beginning termodinamiki predicts, will whether spontaneously proceed khimicheskaya reaction or any physical process. The mathematical expression of the second law (the law) uses the concept of entropy, which quantifies the measure of disorder. Natural processes are constantly striving towards an irreversible state of higher entropy, or to a higher degree of disorder. Third beginning thermodynamics formulated Walter Nernst, stipulates that entropy pure crystalline chemical element vanishes at temperature absolute zero (denoted as 0 б° K). In these conditions molecule veshchestva organized certain way, and therefore natural phenomena usually not amenable Observation.
In the first decade of XX century. temperature about 1 б° K was achieved in laboratory conditions. Method proposed Danish physicist Kamerlingh Onnes, relied on isparenii liquid helium at low temperature in vakuume. In 1924, Mr.. D. proposed a method which allowed to obtain even lower temperatures and which is based on a phenomenon known as adiabatic demagnetization.
Adiabatic system - a system that does not receive the heat from outside and does not give her. Paramagnetic substances, such, as iony redkozemel'nykh and transition metals, contain magnitnye dipoles thanks backs unpaired electrons. D. explained it this way: "Their normal state - a state of disorder, which corresponds to a value of the entropy. When superimposed sufficiently powerful magnetic field, magnets line up line and entropy decreases'. And as any process which is accompanied by a change in entropy can be used to produce heat or cold, it has D. the idea that adiabatic demagnetization can be an opportunity to create a method to obtain lower temperatures than methods using liquid helium.
For eight years, Dr.. and his colleagues at Berkeley designed the hardware needed for the adiabatic demagnetization. In 1933, using gadolinium sulfate, D. and his colleague Duncan Makdugol reached the temperature equal to 0, 25 б° K. To measure the temperature below 1 б° K D. invented the thermometer, based on measuring the electrical resistance of amorphous carbon. This method of magnetic cooling has provided further evidence of the correctness of the third law of thermodynamics, and had a very broad range of industrial application, including improving the quality of rubber, gasoline and glass.
D. compared the values of entropy obtained by adiabatic demagnetization, with spectroscopic data. Along with Johnston, he was a student of Herrick in Berkeley spectroscopically identified two previously unknown isotope oxygen-17 and -18. The nuclei of most atoms of oxygen with 8 protons and 8 neutrons. These isotopes of oxygen contained one or two extra neutrons, whose presence has led to small but important changes in their physical properties. Before the opening of the D. oxygen-16 used by chemists as the standard for determining the atomic weights. The discovery of isotopes of oxygen led to a change in the scale of atomic weights. Werner Heisenberg predicted that hydrogen molecules can exist in two different forms depending on the relative orientation of the molecular cores. Experimental observations of D. confirm this theoretical assumption.
During the Second World War D. participated in military research programs. He constructed electromagnets with a powerful field and mobile units for the production of liquid oxygen.
In 1949, Mr.. D. was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 'for his contribution to chemical thermodynamics, particularly in that of its region, which studies the behavior of matter at extremely low temperatures'. According to a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Arne Tiselius, who handed over the award, 'achieving D. in the field of chemical thermodynamics and especially his work on the behavior of matter at low temperatures ... is one of the most important contributions to modern physical chemistry. "
After receiving the Nobel Prize D. remained an active researcher in the University of California at low temperatures and only a year before his death stopped the scientific activities
In 1932, Mr.. D. married Muriel Frances Ashley, a physicist by profession, has conducted botanical research. The couple had two sons. According to colleagues, Dr.. a real 'Workhorse' and few wanted to escape from the laboratory and classroom. 'I am one of those happy people who find pleasure in his work' - he once said. D. died March 29, 1982, Mr.. G. Oakland (Calif.).
In addition to the Nobel Prize, Dr.. was awarded a medal of Charles Frederick Chandler, Columbia University (1936), Cresson Medal Franklinovskogo Institute (1937) and medals of the Willard Gibbs (1951) and Gilbert Newton Lewis (1956) American Chemical Society. He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, American Philosophical Society, the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded honorary degrees from Columbia and the University of California.