Johannes Diderik Van der Waals was a Dutch physicist who won the 1910 Nobel Prize for Physics due to his research on the gaseous and liquid states of matter. His hypothesis about the continuity of the gaseous and liquid states of matter (1873) combined the kinetic theory of gases with Laplace’s theory of capillarity. In his theory of corresponding states (1880), he presented an equation of the state (now named for him) for homogeneous substances in terms of pressure, volume, and temperature. Contrary to the ideal gas law, his equation contains constant factors to account for the fact that molecules are of finite size and experience weak forces of mutual attraction (now called van der Waals forces).

Sources

• Cleveland, Cutler (Lead Author); Peter Saundry (Topic Editor). 2007. "Van der Waals, Johannes Diderik." In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [Published in the Encyclopedia of Earth March 20, 2007; Retrieved October 25, 2009]. <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Van_der_Waals,_Johannes_Diderik>