Walther Nernst

• 1. A Boy From Prussia

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  Walther Hermann Nernst entered the world on the 25th of June 1864 in Briesen, a town within the Prussian Province of West Prussia. His father Gustav worked as a country judge while his mother Ottilie died when Walther was only thirteen years old. The family suffered another tragedy when his third sister succumbed to cholera during his childhood. He attended elementary school at Graudenz before beginning undergraduate studies at the University of Zürich in 1883. An interlude in Berlin followed before he returned to Zürich for further study. He wrote his thesis at the University of Graz under Ludwig Boltzmann and Albert von Ettinghausen. Their collaboration led to the discovery of the Ettingshausen and Nernst effects regarding magnetic fields and temperature gradients. He moved to the University of Würzburg where Friedrich Kohlrausch supervised his doctoral defense.

• 2. The Heat That Vanishes

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  In 1905 Nernst proposed what became known as the New Heat Theorem or the Third law of thermodynamics. He demonstrated that entropy approaches zero as temperature nears absolute zero while free energy remains above zero. This work enabled chemists to determine equilibrium points from heat measurements with unprecedented precision. Theodore Richards claimed Nernst had stolen his idea but history almost universally credits Nernst with the discovery. In 1909 Albert Einstein published a paper on quantum mechanics predicting specific heats would disappear at absolute zero. Nernst traveled all the way to Zürich to visit Einstein who was relatively unknown at the time. People remarked that Einstein must be clever if the great Nernst came from Berlin just to talk to him. Nernst and Max Planck lobbied to establish a special professorship in Berlin and donated to its endowment. They traveled to Switzerland in 1913 to persuade Einstein to accept the position without teaching duties.

• 3. Equations For Living Cells

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  Nernst derived an equation for electrical potential generated by unequal ion concentrations separated by a permeable membrane in 1887. Wilhelm Ostwald recruited him to the first department of physical chemistry at Leipzig University where he worked on thermodynamics of electrical currents. His equation is widely used today in cell physiology and neurobiology to understand how nerves conduct signals. He moved to Heidelberg University briefly before accepting a professorship at Göttingen three years later. The Prussian government created a chair specifically for him to keep him within their borders. There he wrote a celebrated textbook called Theoretical Chemistry which was translated into English French and Russian. After eighteen productive years investigating osmotic pressure and electrochemistry he moved to Berlin. He received the title of Geheimrat after his long tenure at Göttingen.

• 4. Glowing Filaments And Electric Pianos

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  The carbon electric filament lamp then in use was dim and expensive because it required a vacuum inside its bulb. Nernst invented a solid-body radiator with a filament made of rare-earth oxides known as the Nernst glower. It operates best in wavelengths from 2 to 14 micrometers and gives bright light only after a warm-up period. Continuous ohmic heating of the filament results in conduction allowing it to function without a vacuum. Nernst sold the patent for one million marks wisely not opting for royalties since tungsten lamps soon replaced it. With his riches he bought the first of eighteen automobiles he owned during his lifetime. He increased the power of early cars by carrying a cylinder of nitrous oxide to inject into the carburetor. In 1930 he developed an electric piano called the Neo-Bechstein-Flügel in association with Bechstein and Siemens companies. The instrument used electromagnetic pickups to produce electronically modified sound similar to an electric guitar despite being described as completely unmusical by press releases.

• 5. War And Chemical Weapons

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  In 1914 the Nernsts were entertaining guests in a private railway car when they learned that war had been declared. Their two older sons entered the army while Walther enlisted in the voluntary driver's corps himself. On the 21st of August 1914 he drove documents from Berlin to the commander of the German right wing in France. He advanced with them for two weeks until seeing the glow of Paris lights at night. When the battle of the Marne turned the tide he returned home after the trench stalemate began. He contacted Colonel Max Bauer with the idea of driving defenders out using shells releasing tear gas. Fritz Haber argued that too many shells would be needed so they should release a cloud of heavier-than-air poisonous gas instead. The first chlorine cloud attack on the 22nd of April 1915 was not supported by strong infantry thrusts. As a Staff Scientific Advisor he directed research on explosives including guanidine perchlorate developed in his laboratory. He received the Iron Cross second class then later the Iron Cross first class and the Pour le Mérite.

• 6. Nobel Fame And Nazi Rejection

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  In 1920 Nernst and his family briefly fled abroad because he appeared on an Allied list of war criminals. Later that year he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition of his work on thermochemistry. He was elected Rector of Berlin University for 1921, 1922 and set up an agency to channel funds to young scientists. For two unhappy years he served as president of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt where he could not cope with red tape. In 1933 he learned that a colleague had been dismissed from the department because he was Jewish. Nernst taxied to see Haber to request a position but found Haber was moving to England. Soon Nernst faced trouble for declining to fill out a government form regarding racial origins. He retired from his professorship but was sacked from the board of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. He lived quietly in the country until traveling to Oxford in 1937 to receive an honorary degree. A severe heart attack struck him in 1939 before he died at Zibelle Germany on the 18th of November 1941.