Heyke Kamerlingh Onnes
Netherlands- Biography of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
- Career and Research
- Contributions to Low-Temperature Physics
- Discoveries and Achievements
- Legacy and Recognition
Biography of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
Early Life and EducationHeike Kamerlingh Onnes, a Dutch physicist and one of the founders of low-temperature physics, was born in Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. His father, Harm Kamerlingh Onnes, was a successful owner of a brick factory, and his mother, Anna Gerhardina Koers, was the daughter of an architect. After finishing high school, Kamerlingh Onnes enrolled at the University of Groningen in 1870, where he studied mathematics and physics. He obtained his bachelor's degree in 1871. He then spent three semesters at Heidelberg University in Germany, where he was mentored by chemist Robert Bunsen and physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. In 1873, Kamerlingh Onnes returned to Groningen. Six years later, he successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, which proposed a new proof of the rotation of the Earth.
Career and Research
From 1878 to 1882, Kamerlingh Onnes lectured at the Polytechnic School (later transformed into the Technical University) in Delft. He was particularly interested in Johannes van der Waals' theory of gases, which established the relationship between pressure, temperature, and volume, accounting for the differences between real and ideal gases. Van der Waals was teaching in Amsterdam at the time, and Kamerlingh Onnes corresponded with him regarding molecular theory. In 1882, at the age of twenty-nine, Kamerlingh Onnes was appointed as a professor of experimental physics at Leiden University and became the head of the university's physical laboratory. In his inaugural lecture, he proclaimed the principle that guided him throughout his forty-two years at Leiden University: "Through measurement to knowledge." According to Kamerlingh Onnes, physical laboratories should conduct quantitative measurements and perform qualitative experiments, with theoretical descriptions supported by precise measurements conducted with astronomical accuracy.
Contributions to Low-Temperature Physics
According to Van der Waals' theory of corresponding states, all gases behave the same if the units of pressure and temperature are chosen to account for the weak forces of attraction between molecules. Kamerlingh Onnes believed that studying the behavior of gases at low temperatures could provide important information to test the theory of corresponding states. To achieve low temperatures, gases needed to be liquefied. Kamerlingh Onnes chose the narrow field of cryogenics as the focus of his laboratory's work, specifically the study of low-temperature effects. He built a large gas liquefaction plant to obtain large quantities of low-temperature liquids such as oxygen, nitrogen, and air. These liquids were necessary to conduct experiments on the properties of materials and achieve even lower temperatures. In 1909, Kamerlingh Onnes opened a school for mechanics and glassblowers to train qualified assistants. The graduates of the Leiden school could be found in physics laboratories around the world. Kamerlingh Onnes' laboratory became a model for 20th-century research institutes.
Discoveries and Achievements
Although Scottish scientist James Dewar obtained liquid hydrogen in 1898, it was only Kamerlingh Onnes who managed to establish the production of significant quantities of liquid hydrogen. His industrial plant produced 4 liters of liquid hydrogen per hour. Building the setup required the expertise of Kamerlingh Onnes' skilled technicians: mechanics to create pumps and glassblowers to produce transparent vessels through which the behavior of substances at low temperatures could be observed. Two years later, Kamerlingh Onnes successfully obtained liquid helium at a temperature just 4 degrees above absolute zero. Some scientists doubted that this was even achievable. "I was ecstatic when I could demonstrate liquid helium to my friend Van der Waals, whose theory had guided me to complete the liquefaction," Kamerlingh Onnes later recalled. With the help of liquid helium, Kamerlingh Onnes achieved even lower temperatures: 1.38 K in 1909 and 1.04 K in 1910. However, his main focus remained on studying the properties of substances at these extremely low temperatures. He studied the absorption spectra of elements, the phosphorescence of various compounds, the viscosity of liquefied gases, and the magnetic properties of substances. Since temperature is a measure of the random motion of molecules in a substance, and this obscures the essence of certain phenomena, lowering the temperature can, as Kamerlingh Onnes put it, "lift the curtain that thermal motion casts over the inner world of atoms and electrons at ordinary temperatures."
In 1911, Kamerlingh Onnes made his most remarkable discovery. He found that at low temperatures, the electrical resistance of some metals completely disappears. He named this phenomenon superconductivity. Kamerlingh Onnes speculated that the explanation for superconductivity would be provided by quantum theory. In 1957, John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and J. Robert Schrieffer proposed a theoretical explanation for the phenomenon of superconductivity.
Legacy and Recognition
Kamerlingh Onnes was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913 "for his investigations on the properties of matter at low temperatures which led to the production of liquid helium." Introducing the laureate, Theodore Nordström of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences stated that "the achievement of such low temperatures has great significance for physical research, and Kamerlingh Onnes' work will contribute to new theories of the electron." Kamerlingh Onnes, who earned the affection and the honorary title of "Mr. Absolute Zero," played a key role in promoting international scientific cooperation. He willingly invited foreign scientists to work in his laboratory. The journal he founded, "Communications From the Physical Laboratory of the University of Leiden," became the most authoritative publication in the field of low-temperature physics. Kamerlingh Onnes actively participated in the development of methods for using low temperatures, such as food preservation, the creation of refrigerated railway cars, and ice production.
In 1887, Kamerlingh Onnes married Elisabeth Bilefeld, and they had one son together. His interests extended beyond the walls of his laboratory. He was a dedicated family man, and his colleagues described him as a person of great charm and humility. During World War I, he participated in organizing relief efforts for starving children in different countries. The grandeur of his achievements and the intensity of his scientific work were in stark contrast to his delicate health, which he had throughout his life. After a brief illness, Kamerlingh Onnes passed away in Leiden on February 21, 1926. Among his numerous awards were the Matteucci Medal from the National Academy of Sciences of Italy, the Rumford Medal from the Royal Society of London, and the Franklin Medal from the Franklin Institute. He was an honorary doctor of the University of Berlin. Before he turned thirty, he was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Kamerlingh Onnes was also a member of the academies of sciences in Copenhagen, Göttingen, Halle, Uppsala, Turin, and Vienna.
