Willem Hendrik Keesom
Encyclopedia
Willem Hendrik Keesom was a Dutch
physicist
who, in 1926, invented a method to freeze liquid helium
.
He also developed the first mathematical description of dipole-dipole interactions in 1921. Thus, dipole-dipole interactions are also known as Keesom interactions.
He was previously a student of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
, who had discovered superconductivity
(a feat for which Kamerlingh Onnes received a Nobel Prize
).
He also discovered the lambda-point transition specific-heat maximum between Helium-I and Helium-2 in 1930 (Basic Superfluids p25/Tony Guenault).
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who, in 1926, invented a method to freeze liquid helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
.
He also developed the first mathematical description of dipole-dipole interactions in 1921. Thus, dipole-dipole interactions are also known as Keesom interactions.
He was previously a student of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes was a Dutch physicist and Nobel laureate. He pioneered refrigeration techniques, and he explored how materials behaved when cooled to nearly absolute zero. He was the first to liquify helium...
, who had discovered superconductivity
Superconductivity
Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
(a feat for which Kamerlingh Onnes received a Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
).
He also discovered the lambda-point transition specific-heat maximum between Helium-I and Helium-2 in 1930 (Basic Superfluids p25/Tony Guenault).
External links
- Albert van Helden, Willem Hendrik Keesom 1876 – 1956, In: K. van Berkel, A. van Helden and L. Palm ed., A History of Science in the Netherlands. Survey, Themes and Reference (Leiden: Brill, 1999) 498-500.
- Scientists of the Dutch School: Willem Hendrik Keesom @ Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- P.H. van Laer, Keesom, Wilhelmus Hendrikus (1876-1956), in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland.