Josiah Willard Gibbs Alma mater

• Yale College [d]
• heidelberg university
• Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science [d]

Gibbs triangle

In 1901, Gibbs was awarded the highest award of the international scientific community of that time (awarded each year to only one scientist) - the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London - for what he became "the first to apply the second law of thermodynamics to a comprehensive consideration of the relationship between chemical, electrical and thermal energy and the ability to do work" .

Biography

early years

Gibbs was born February 11, 1839 in New Haven, Connecticut. His father, a professor of spiritual literature at Yale Divinity School (later incorporated into Yale University), was known for his involvement in a lawsuit called Amistad. Although the father's name was also Josiah Willard, "younger" was never used with the son's name: in addition, five other family members had the same name. The maternal grandfather was also a Yale graduate in literature. After studying at the Hopkins School, at the age of 15, Gibbs entered Yale College. In 1858 he graduated from college among the best in his class and was awarded for excellence in mathematics and Latin.

Years of maturity

In 1863, by decision of the Sheffield Scientific School (English) At Yale, Gibbs was awarded the first U.S. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in engineering for his dissertation "On the shape of the teeth of wheels for gearing." The following years he taught at Yale: for two years he taught Latin and for another year - what was later called natural philosophy and is comparable to the modern concept of "natural sciences". In 1866 he left for Europe to continue his studies, spending one year each in Paris, Berlin and then in Heidelberg, where he met Kirchhoff and Helmholtz. At that time, German scientists were the leading authorities in chemistry, thermodynamics and fundamental natural sciences. These three years, in fact, make up that part of the scientist's life that he spent outside New Haven.

In 1869 he returned to Yale, where in 1871 he was appointed professor of mathematical physics (the first such position in the United States) and held this post for the rest of his life.

The position of professor was at first unpaid, a situation typical of the time (especially in Germany), and Gibbs had to publish his papers. In 1876-1878. he writes a number of articles on the analysis of multiphase chemical systems by a graphical method. Later they were published in a monograph "On the equilibrium of heterogeneous substances" (On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances), his most famous work. This work by Gibbs is regarded as one of the greatest scientific achievements of the 19th century and one of the fundamental works of physical chemistry. In his papers, Gibbs applied thermodynamics to explain physical and chemical phenomena by relating what had previously been a collection of isolated facts.

“It is generally recognized that the publication of this monograph was an event of paramount importance in the history of chemical science. However, it took several years before its significance was fully realized; the delay was mainly due to the fact that the mathematical form used and the rigorous deductive techniques make reading difficult for anyone, and especially for students in experimental chemistry, to whom it was most relevant ... "

Key topics covered in his other papers on heterogeneous equilibria include:

• Concepts of chemical potential and free energy

• The Gibbs ensemble model, the foundation of statistical mechanics

• Gibbs phase rule

Gibbs also published works on theoretical thermodynamics. In 1873, his article on the geometric representation of thermodynamic quantities was published. This work inspired Maxwell to make a plastic model (the so-called Maxwell thermodynamic surface) illustrating the Gibbsian construct. The model was subsequently sent to Gibbs and is currently in storage at Yale University.

Later years

In 1884-89. Gibbs makes improvements in vector analysis, writes works on optics, develops a new electrical theory of light. He deliberately avoids theorizing about the structure of matter, which was a wise decision in view of the subsequent revolutionary developments in subatomic particle physics and quantum mechanics. His chemical thermodynamics was more universal than any other chemical theory that existed at the time.

After 1889, he continued to work on statistical thermodynamics, "equipping quantum mechanics and Maxwell's theories with a mathematical framework." He wrote the classic textbooks on statistical thermodynamics, which appeared in 1902. Gibbs also contributed to crystallography and applied his vector method to the calculation of planetary and cometary orbits.

Little is known about the names and careers of his students. Gibbs never married and lived all his life in his father's house with his sister and son-in-law, a librarian at Yale. He was so focused on science that he was generally inaccessible to personal interests. American mathematician Edwin Bidwell Wilson (English) said: “Outside the walls of the classroom, I saw him very little. He had a habit of going for a walk in the afternoon along the streets between his office in the old laboratory and the house - a little exercise between work and lunch - and then you could sometimes meet him. Gibbs died in New Haven and is buried in Grove Street Cemetery.

Scientific recognition

Recognition did not come to the scientist immediately (in particular, because Gibbs mainly published in "Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Sciences"- a magazine edited by his son-in-law, a librarian, little read in the United States and even less in Europe). At first, only a few European theoretical physicists and chemists (including, for example, the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell) paid attention to his work. It was not until Gibbs's papers were translated into German (by Wilhelm Ostwald in 1892) and French (by Henri Louis le Chatelier in 1899) that his ideas became widespread in Europe. His theory of the phase rule was experimentally confirmed in the work of H. W. Backhuis Rosebohm, who demonstrated its applicability in various aspects.

On his native continent, Gibbs was even less appreciated. Nevertheless, he was recognized, and in 1880 the American Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded him the Rumfoord Prize for his work on thermodynamics. And in 1910, in memory of the scientist, the American Chemical Society, on the initiative of William Converse, established the Willard Gibbs Medal.

American schools and colleges of that time emphasized traditional disciplines rather than science, and students showed little interest in his lectures at Yale. Gibbs' acquaintances described his work at Yale as follows:

“In the last years of his life, he remained a tall, noble gentleman with a healthy gait and a healthy complexion, managing his duties at home, accessible and responsive to students. Gibbs was highly regarded by friends, but American science was too concerned with practical issues to apply his solid theoretical work during his lifetime. He lived his quiet life at Yale and deeply admired a few bright students, without making a first impression on American scientists comparable to his talent. (Crowther, 1969)

It should not be thought that Gibbs was little known during his lifetime. For example, the mathematician Gian-Carlo Rota (English), looking through the shelves with the literature on mathematics in the Sterling Library (at Yale University), came across a list of addresses written by Gibbs and attached to some abstract. The list included over two hundred notable mathematicians of the time, including Poincaré, Hilbert, Boltzmann, and Mach. It can be concluded that among the luminaries of science, the works of Gibbs were better known than the printed material testifies to them.

Gibbs' achievements, however, were finally recognized only with the appearance in 1923 of the publication of Gilbert Newton Lewis and Merle Randall (English) , which introduced Gibbs' methods to chemists from various universities. These same methods formed, for the most part, the basis of chemical technology.

The list of academies and societies of which he was a member includes the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Dutch Scientific Society, Haarlem; Royal Scientific Society, Göttingen; The Royal Institution of Great Britain, the Cambridge Philosophical Society, the Mathematical Society of London, the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, the Royal Academy of Amsterdam, the Royal Society of London, the Royal Prussian Academy in Berlin, the French Institute, the Physical Society of London, and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.

According to the American Mathematical Society, which established the so-called "Gibbs Lectures" in 1923 to raise general competence in mathematical approaches and applications, Gibbs was the greatest scientist ever born on American soil.

Chemical thermodynamics

Gibbs' main work is in chemical thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, of which he is one of the founders. Gibbs developed the so-called entropy diagrams, which play an important role in technical thermodynamics, showed (1871-1873) that three-dimensional diagrams make it possible to represent all the thermodynamic properties of a substance.

In 1873, when he was 34 years old, Gibbs showed extraordinary research abilities in the field of mathematical physics. Two articles appeared in the journal of the Connecticut Academy this year. The first one was titled "Graphic Methods in Fluid Thermodynamics", and the second - "Method of geometric representation of thermodynamic properties of substances using surfaces". With these works, Gibbs laid the foundation for geometric thermodynamics .

They were followed in 1876 and 1878 by two parts of a much more fundamental paper, "On Equilibrium in Heterogeneous Systems", which summarize his contributions to physical science and are undoubtedly among the most significant and outstanding literary monuments of the scientific activity of the 19th century. Thus, Gibbs in 1873-1878. laid the foundations of chemical thermodynamics, in particular, developed a general theory of thermodynamic equilibrium and the method of thermodynamic potentials, formulated (1875) the phase rule, built a general theory of surface phenomena, obtained an equation establishing a relationship between the internal energy of a thermodynamic system and thermodynamic potentials.

In discussing chemically homogeneous media in the first two papers, Gibbs often used the principle that a substance is in equilibrium if its entropy cannot be increased at constant energy. In the epigraph of the third article, he cited the well-known expression of Clausius "Die Energie der Welt ist constant. Die Entropie der Welt strebt einem Maximum zu", which means “The energy of the world is constant. The entropy of the world tends to the maximum. He showed that the aforementioned equilibrium condition, which follows from the two laws of thermodynamics, has universal application, carefully removing one limitation after another, primarily that the substance must be chemically homogeneous. An important step was the introduction as variables in the fundamental differential equations of the masses of the components that make up a heterogeneous system. It is shown that in this case the differential coefficients at the energies with respect to these masses enter into equilibrium in the same way as the intensive parameters, pressure and temperature. He called these coefficients potentials. Analogies with homogeneous systems are constantly used, and mathematical operations are similar to those used in the case of expanding the geometry of three-dimensional space to n-dimensional.

It is universally recognized that the publication of these papers was of particular importance for the history of chemistry. In fact, this marked the formation of a new branch of chemical science, which, according to M. Le Chatelier ( M. Le Chetelier) [ ], compared in importance with the works of Lavoisier. However, several years passed before the value of these works became generally recognized. This delay was mainly due to the fact that reading the articles was quite difficult (especially for students of experimental chemistry) due to extraordinary mathematical calculations and scrupulous conclusions. At the end of the 19th century, there were very few chemists with sufficient knowledge of mathematics to read even the simplest parts of the works; thus, some of the most important laws, first described in these articles, were later proved by other scientists either theoretically or, more often, experimentally. Nowadays, however, the value of Gibbs' methods and the results obtained are recognized by all students of physical chemistry.

In 1891, Gibbs' works were translated into German by Professor Ostwald, and in 1899 into French, thanks to the efforts of G. Roy and A. Le Chatelier. Despite the fact that many years have passed since the publication, in both cases the translators noted not so much the historical aspect of the memoirs as many important issues that were discussed in these articles and which have not yet been confirmed experimentally. Many theorems have already served as starting points or guidelines for experimenters, others, such as the phase rule, have helped to classify and explain complex experimental facts in a logical way. In turn, using the theory of catalysis, solid solutions, osmotic pressure, it was shown that many facts that previously seemed incomprehensible and hardly amenable to explanation, in fact, are easy to understand and are consequences of the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. When discussing multi-component systems where some constituents are present in very small amounts (dilute solutions), the theory has gone as far as possible, based on primary considerations. At the time of publication of the article, the lack of experimental facts did not allow formulating the fundamental law that Van't Hoff later discovered. This law was originally a consequence of Henry's law for a mixture of gases, but upon further consideration it turned out that it has a much wider application.

Theoretical mechanics

The scientific contribution of Gibbs to theoretical mechanics is also noticeable. In 1879, as applied to holonomic mechanical systems, he derived the equations of their motion from the Gauss principle of least constraint. In 1899, in fact, the same equations as those of Gibbs were independently obtained by the French mechanic P.E. equations, usually called the Appel equations, and sometimes called Gibbs-Appel equations). They are usually regarded as the most general equations of motion of mechanical systems.

Vector calculus

Gibbs, like many other physicists of those years, realized the need to use vector algebra, through which one can easily and easily express rather complex spatial relationships associated with different areas of physics. Gibbs always preferred the awareness and elegance of the mathematical apparatus he used, so he used vector algebra with particular desire. However, in Hamilton's theory of quaternions, he did not find a tool that would satisfy all his requirements. In this regard, he shared the views of many researchers who wish to reject quaternion analysis, despite its logical validity, in favor of a simpler and more direct descriptive apparatus - vector algebra. With the help of his students, in 1881 and 1884 Professor Gibbs secretly published a detailed monograph on vector analysis, the mathematical apparatus of which he developed. The book quickly spread among his fellow scientists.

While working on his book, Gibbs relied mainly on labor "Ausdehnungslehre" Grassmann and on the algebra of multiple relations. These studies interested Gibbs unusually, and, as he later noted, gave him the greatest aesthetic pleasure among all his activities. Many papers in which he rejected Hamilton's theory of quaternions appeared in the pages of the journal Nature.

When the convenience of vector algebra as a mathematical system was confirmed by himself and his students over the next 20 years, Gibbs agreed, albeit reluctantly, to publish more detailed work on vector analysis. Since at that time he was completely absorbed in another topic, the preparation of the manuscript for publication was entrusted to one of his students, Dr. E. B. Wilson, who coped with this task. Now Gibbs is deservedly considered one of the creators of vector calculus in its modern form.

In addition, Professor Gibbs was very interested in the application of vector analysis to solve astronomical problems and gave many such examples in the article "On the determination of elliptical orbits from three complete observations." The methods developed in this work were subsequently used by Professors W. Beebe ( W. Beebe) and A. W. Phillips ( A. W. Phillips) to calculate the orbit of Comet Swift from three observations, which was a serious test of the method. They found that the Gibbs method had significant advantages over the Gauss and Oppolzer methods, the convergence of suitable approximations was faster, and much less effort was expended in finding the fundamental equations to solve. These two articles were translated into German by Buchholz (German: Hugo Buchholz) and included in the second edition. Theoretische Astronomy Clinkerfuss.

Electromagnetism and optics

From 1882 to 1889 in the American Journal of Science ( American Journal of Science) appeared five articles on separate topics in the electromagnetic theory of light and its connections with various theories of elasticity. It is interesting that special hypotheses about the relationship between space and matter were completely absent. The only assumption made about the structure of matter is that it is composed of particles that are small enough in relation to the wavelength of light, but not infinitely small, and that it somehow interacts with electric fields in space. Using methods whose simplicity and clarity were reminiscent of his research in thermodynamics, Gibbs showed that in the case of perfectly transparent media, the theory not only explains the dispersion of color (including the dispersion of optical axes in a birefringent medium), but also leads to Fresnel's laws of double reflection for any wavelengths, taking into account low energies that determine the color dispersion. He noted that circular and elliptical polarization can be explained if we consider the energy of light of even higher orders, which, in turn, does not refute the interpretation of many other known phenomena. Gibbs carefully deduced the general equations for monochromatic light in a medium with varying degrees of transparency, coming to expressions different from those obtained by Maxwell, which do not explicitly contain the dielectric constant of the medium and conductivity.

Some experiments of Professor Hastings ( C. S. Hastings) of 1888 (which showed that the birefringence in Icelandic spar is in exact accordance with Huygens' law) again forced Professor Gibbs to take up the theory of optics and write new papers in which, in a fairly simple form from elementary reasoning, he showed that the dispersion of light is strictly corresponds to the electrical theory, while none of the theories of elasticity proposed at that time could be consistent with the experimental data obtained.

Statistical mechanics

In his latest work "Basic Principles of Statistical Mechanics" Gibbs returned to a topic closely related to the subject matter of his earlier publications. In them, he was engaged in the development of the consequences of the laws of thermodynamics, which are accepted as data based on experiment. In this empirical form of science, heat and mechanical energy were regarded as two different phenomena - of course, mutually passing into each other with certain restrictions, but fundamentally different in many important parameters. In accordance with the popular tendency to combine phenomena, many attempts have been made to reduce these two concepts to one category, to show in fact that heat is nothing but the mechanical energy of small particles, and that the extradynamic laws of heat are the result of a huge number of independent mechanical systems in any body - a number so large that it is difficult for a person with his limited imagination to even imagine. And yet, despite the confident claims in many books and popular exhibitions that "heat is the mode of molecular motion," they were not completely convincing, and this failure was regarded by Lord Kelvin as a shadow in the history of science in the 19th century. Such studies should deal with the mechanics of systems with a huge number of degrees of freedom, and it was possible to compare the results of calculations with observation, these processes should have a statistical character. Maxwell repeatedly pointed out the difficulties of such processes, and also said (and this was often quoted by Gibbs) that even people whose competence in other areas of mathematics was not questioned made serious mistakes in such matters.

Influence on subsequent works

Gibbs's work attracted a lot of attention and influenced the activities of many scientists - some of them became Nobel laureates:

• In 1910, the Dutchman JD Van der Waals was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. In his Nobel lecture, he noted the influence of Gibbs's equations of state on his work.

• In 1918, Max Planck received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in the field of quantum mechanics, in particular for the publication in 1900 of his quantum theory. His theory was essentially based on the thermodynamics of R. Clausius, J. W. Gibbs and L. Boltzmann. Planck said this about Gibbs: "his name, not only in America, but throughout the world, will be ranked among the most famous theoretical physicists of all time ...".

• Early 20th century Gilbert N. Lewis and Merle Randall (English) used and expanded the theory of chemical thermodynamics developed by Gibbs. They presented their research in 1923 in a book called "Thermodynamics and the Free Energy of Chemical Substances" and was one of the fundamental textbooks on chemical thermodynamics. In the 1910s William Giok entered the Berkeley College of Chemistry and in 1920 received a bachelor's degree in chemistry. At first he wanted to become a chemical engineer, but under the influence of Lewis, he developed an interest in chemical research. In 1934 he became full professor of chemistry at Berkeley, and in 1949 he received the Nobel Prize for his cryochemical research using the third law of thermodynamics.

• Gibbs's work had a significant impact on the formation of the views of Irving Fisher, an economist who had a Ph.D. from Yale.

Personal qualities

Professor Gibbs was a man of honest disposition and innate modesty. In addition to successful academic work, he was busy working at Hopkins New Haven High School, where he provided custodial services and served as treasurer of funds for many years. As befits a man who is mainly engaged in intellectual activities, Gibbs never sought or desired to have a wide circle of acquaintances; however, he was not an asocial person, but, on the contrary, he was always extremely friendly and open, able to support any topic, and always calm, inviting. Expansiveness was alien to his nature, as was insincerity. He could laugh easily and had a lively sense of humor. Although he rarely talked about himself, he sometimes liked to give examples from his personal experience.

None of the qualities of Professor Gibbs impressed his colleagues and students more than his modesty and the complete unconsciousness of his limitless intellectual resources. A typical example is a phrase he uttered in the company of a close friend regarding his mathematical abilities. With absolute sincerity, he said: "If I was successful in mathematical physics, then I think it is because I was lucky enough to avoid mathematical difficulties."

Name immortalization

In 1945, Yale University, in honor of J. Willard Gibbs, introduced the title of professor of theoretical chemistry, which was retained until 1973 by Lars Onsager (Nobel Prize winner in chemistry). Gibbs was also named after a laboratory at Yale University and the post of senior lecturer in mathematics. On February 28, 2003, a symposium was held at Yale to mark the 100th anniversary of his death.

In 1950, a bust of Gibbs was placed in the Hall of Fame of Great Americans.

On May 4, 2005, the United States Postal Service issued a series of postage stamps featuring portraits of Gibbs, John von Neumann, Barbara McClintock, and Richard Feynman.

The USN Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1), a US Navy oceanographic expedition ship in service from 1958-71, was named after Gibbs.

(Gibbs, Josiah Willard)
(1839-1903), American physicist and mathematician, one of the founders of chemical thermodynamics and statistical physics. Born February 11, 1839 in New Haven (Connecticut) in the family of a famous philologist, professor of theology. He graduated from Yale University, where his achievements in Greek, Latin and mathematics were marked by prizes and prizes. In 1863 he received his Ph.D. He became a university teacher, and for the first two years he taught Latin and only then mathematics. In 1866-1869 he continued his education at the Universities of Paris, Berlin and Heidelberg, where he met the leading mathematicians of the time. Two years after returning to New Haven, he headed the Department of Mathematical Physics at Yale University and held it for the rest of his life. Gibbs presented his first work in the field of thermodynamics to the Connecticut Academy of Sciences in 1872. It was called Graphical Methods in the Thermodynamics of Fluids and was devoted to the method of entropy diagrams developed by Gibbs. The method made it possible to graphically represent all the thermodynamic properties of a substance and played an important role in technical thermodynamics. Gibbs developed his ideas in the following work - Methods of Geometrical Representation of the Thermodynamic Properties of Substances by Means of Surfaces, 1873, introducing three-dimensional state diagrams and obtaining a relationship between the internal energy of the system, entropy and volume. In 1874-1878 Gibbs published a fundamental treatise On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances, which became the basis of chemical thermodynamics. In it, he outlined the general theory of thermodynamic equilibrium and the method of thermodynamic potentials, formulated the phase rule (now bearing his name), built a general theory of surface and electrochemical phenomena, derived a fundamental equation establishing a relationship between the internal energy of a thermodynamic system and thermodynamic potentials and allowing one to determine the direction of chemical reactions and equilibrium conditions for heterogeneous systems. The theory of heterogeneous equilibrium - the most abstract of all Gibbs' theories - subsequently found wide practical application. Gibbs' works on thermodynamics were little known in Europe until 1892. One of the first to appreciate the importance of his graphic methods was J. Maxwell, who built several models of thermodynamic surfaces for water. In the 1880s, Gibbs became interested in the work of W. Hamilton on quaternions and the algebraic work of G. Grassmann. Developing their ideas, he created vector analysis in its modern form. In 1902, Gibbs completed the creation of classical statistical physics with the work Basic principles of statistical mechanics (Elementary Principles in Statistical Mechanics). Statistical research methods developed by him make it possible to obtain thermodynamic functions characterizing the state of systems. Gibbs gave a general theory of the magnitude of fluctuations of these functions from equilibrium values ​​and a description of the irreversibility of physical processes. Such concepts as "Gibbs paradox", "Gibbs canonical, microcanonical and grand canonical distributions", "Gibbs adsorption equation", "Gibbs-Duhem equation", etc. are associated with his name. Gibbs was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston , a member of the Royal Society of London, was awarded the Copley medal, the Rumfoord medal. Gibbs died at Yale on April 28, 1903.
LITERATURE
Frankfort W., Frank A. Josiah Willard Gibbs. M., 1964 Gibbs J. Thermodynamics. Statistical mechanics. M., 1982

• — Wedgwood, English ceramic artist and entrepreneur. representative of classicism. From 1752 he worked in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, from 1759 - in Burslem. In 1769 the settlement of Etruria was founded with a faience factory...

  Art Encyclopedia

• - Joshua Willard, American theoretical scientist in the field of physics and chemistry. Professor at Yale University. Dedicated his life to developing the foundations of physical chemistry...

  Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

• - Oxford. 1737 - 1749...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - an outstanding American philosopher and logician. Many philosophers share his general understanding of philosophy as an attempt to understand the world using methods that are extensions of common sense and science...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - English ceramist
• - I James, English architect. He studied in Holland and Italy), collaborated with K. Wren. Classicist...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - Gibbs James, English architect. He studied in Holland and Italy, collaborated with K. Wren. representative of classicism. G.'s buildings are distinguished by their impressive simplicity and integrity of composition, the elegance of details ...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - Gibbs Josiah Willard, American theoretical physicist, one of the founders of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Graduated from Yale University...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - Libby Willard Frank, American physical chemist. Received bachelor's and doctoral degrees in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley; where he taught chemistry...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - Josiah Edward Spurr, American geologist. Graduated from Harvard University. He has worked for the US Geological Survey and various mining companies. The main works are devoted to the theory of ore formation ...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• — Wedgwood, Josiah Wedgwood, English ceramic artist and entrepreneur. One of the largest representatives of the decorative and applied art of classicism...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - Josiah Willard, American physicist. One of the founders of statistical mechanics. He developed a general theory of thermodynamic equilibrium, the theory of thermodynamic potentials, derived the basic adsorption equation ...

  Modern Encyclopedia

• - English architect. Classicist...
• - American theoretical physicist, one of the founders of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics ...

  Big encyclopedic dictionary

• - WEDGWOOD Josiah - English ceramist. Invented high-quality earthenware masses. In 1769 he founded a manufactory...

  Big encyclopedic dictionary

• - -a: distribution "G" ...

  Russian spelling dictionary

"GIBBS Josiah Willard" in books

Josiah Flint - real and true

From the book Hobo in Russia by Flint Josiah

Josiah Flint - the real and true Josiah Flint Willard, better known under the pseudonym Josiah Flint (1869–1907) - American journalist, writer and sociologist, famous for essays about wanderings with vagrants in Europe and the United States and exposing corruption

Willard Gibbs

From the book American Scientists and Inventors by Wilson Mitchell

Willard Gibbs

Quine Willard van Ormen (1908–1995)

From the book Shadow and Reality by Swami Suhotra

Quine Willard van Ormen (1908–1995) Famous American philosopher. He is often quoted as saying that in scientific theory, "any proposition can be said to be true if we make a sufficiently radical change in

Charles Gibbs (1794-1831)

From the book 100 great pirates author Gubarev Viktor Kimovich

Charles Gibbs (1794-1831) Charles Gibbs was an American pirate, one of the last known pirates of the 19th century. A vile and unprincipled man, he entered the history of sea robbery as one of the most cruel bandits. He was born in 1794 on a farm in Rhode Island. Father wanted to give

WILLARD GIBBS

From the book of 100 great scientists author Samin Dmitry

WILLARD GIBBS (1839–1903) The mystery of Gibbs is not whether he was a misunderstood or unappreciated genius. The riddle of Gibbs lies elsewhere: how did it happen that pragmatic America, in the years of the reign of practicality, produced a great theoretician? Before him in

Wedgwood Josiah

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BE) of the author TSB

Gibbs James

TSB

Gibbs James Gibbs (Gibbs) James (12/23/1682, Footdimer, near Aberdeen, - 8/5/1754, London), English architect. He studied in Holland and Italy (in 1700-09 with K. Fontana), collaborated with K. Wren. representative of classicism. G.'s buildings are distinguished by their impressive simplicity and integrity.

Gibbs Josiah Willard

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (GI) of the author TSB

Gibbs Josiah Willard Gibbs Josiah Willard (February 11, 1839, New Haven - April 28, 1903, ibid.), American theoretical physicist, one of the founders of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Graduated from Yale University (1858). He received his PhD from Yale in 1863.

Libby Willard Frank

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (LI) of the author TSB

Spurr Josiah Edward

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (SP) of the author TSB

Josiah Edward Spurr Josiah Edward Spurr (October 1, 1870, Gloucester, Massachusetts - January 12, 1950, Orlando, Florida) was an American geologist. Graduated from Harvard University (1893). He worked for the US Geological Survey (1902-06) and for various mining companies (1906-17). Main

From the book Big Dictionary of Quotes and Popular Expressions author Dushenko Konstantin Vasilievich

Motley, Willard (1912-1965), American writer 818 Live fast, die young and be beautiful in your grave. // Live fast, die young, and have a good looking corpse. "Knock on Any Door", ch. 35 (1947; screened in 1949) ? Shapiro, p. 540 Usually this motto was attributed to film actor James Dean (J. Dean, 1931-1955).? "Live

Quine (Quine) Willard van Orman (b. 1908)

From the book The Newest Philosophical Dictionary author Gritsanov Alexander Alekseevich

Quine (Quine) Willard van Orman (b. 1908) is an American philosopher. One of the members of the Vienna Circle (1932). He taught at Harvard University (since 1938). According to a number of historians of philosophy and science, had a very significant impact on the range of philosophical discussions

Gibbs I (gibbs)

James (December 23, 1682, Footdeemere, near Aberdeen - August 5, 1754, London), English architect. He studied in Holland and Italy (in 1700-09 with K. Fontana (See Fontana)), collaborated with K. Wren. representative of classicism. G.'s buildings are distinguished by their impressive simplicity and integrity of composition, the elegance of details (the churches of St. Mary-le-Strand, 1714-1717, and St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 1722-1726, in London; the Radcliffe Library in Oxford, 1737 -49).

Lit.: Summerson J., Architecture in Britain. 1530-1830, Harmondsworth, 1958.

II (gibbs)

Josiah Willard (February 11, 1839, New Haven - April 28, 1903, ibid.), American theoretical physicist, one of the founders of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Graduated from Yale University (1858). In 1863 he received his Ph.D. from Yale University, from 1871 professor there. G. systematized thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, completing their theoretical construction. Already in his first articles, G. developed graphical methods for studying thermodynamic systems, introduced three-dimensional diagrams, and obtained relationships between the volume, energy, and entropy of matter. In 1874-78, in his treatise On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances, he developed the theory of thermodynamic potentials, proved the phase rule (a general condition for the equilibrium of heterogeneous systems), created the thermodynamics of surface phenomena and electrochemical processes; G. generalized the principle of entropy, applying the second law of thermodynamics to a wide range of processes, and derived fundamental equations to determine the direction of reactions and equilibrium conditions for mixtures of any complexity. The theory of heterogeneous equilibrium, one of G.'s most abstract theoretical contributions to science, has found wide practical application.

In 1902, the Fundamental Principles of Statistical Mechanics, Expounded with a Special Application to the Rational Foundation of Thermodynamics, were published, which was the completion of classical statistical physics, the fundamental principles of which were laid down in the works of J. TO. Maxwell and L. Boltzmann. The statistical research method developed by G. makes it possible to obtain thermodynamic functions that characterize the state of a substance. G. gave a general theory of fluctuations in the values ​​of these functions from the equilibrium values ​​determined by formal thermodynamics, and an adequate description of the irreversibility of physical phenomena. G. is also one of the creators of vector calculus in its modern form (Elements of Vector Analysis, 1881-1884).

In the works of G. manifested remarkably precise logic, thoroughness in finishing the results. In the works of Mr.. still not found a single error, all of his ideas have been preserved in modern science.

Cit.: The collected works, v. 1-2, N. Y. - L., 1928; The scientific papers, v. 1-2, N.Y., 1906; in Russian per. - Basic principles of statistical mechanics, M. - L., 1946; Thermodynamic works, M., 1950.

Lit.: Semenchenko V.K., D.V. Gibbs and his main works on thermodynamics and statistical mechanics (On the 50th anniversary of his death), "Advances in Chemistry", 1953, v. 22, c. 10; Frankfurt W. I., Frank A. M., Josiah Willard Gibbs, M., 1964.

O. V. Kuznetsova.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what "Gibbs" is in other dictionaries:

- (English Gibbs, sometimes Gibbes) English surname. Gibbs, Josiah Willard is an American physicist, mathematician and chemist, one of the founders of the theories of phenomenological and statistical thermodynamics, vector analysis, statistical ... ... Wikipedia

- (Gibbs) Josiah Willard (1839-1903), American physicist. One of the founders of statistical mechanics. He developed a general theory of thermodynamic equilibrium (including limited systems), the theory of thermodynamic potentials, derived the main ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

- (Gibbs) Joshua Willard (1839-1903), American scientific theorist in physics and chemistry. Professor at Yale University. He devoted his life to developing the foundations of physical chemistry. The application of THERMODYNAMICS in relation to physical processes has led to ... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

Gibbs- Gibbs, a: Gibbs distribution... Russian spelling dictionary

Gibbs D.W.- GIBBS Josiah Willard (18391903), Amer. theoretical physicist, one of the founders of thermodynamics and statistics. mechanics. Developed the theory of thermodynamics. potentials, discovered the general condition for the equilibrium of heterogeneous systems the rule of phases, derived the equation ... ... Biographical Dictionary

- ... Wikipedia

- ... Wikipedia

- ... Wikipedia

- ... Wikipedia

Books

• Woodwork Practice course, Gibbs N.. Wood is a great material. Many masters have special feelings for him, not because of his beauty and strength, but rather because of the desire to tame this malleable and at the same time ...

Josiah Willard Gibbs- this is a famous scientist who became famous as the creator of vector analysis, the mathematical theory of vector analysis, statistical physics, the mathematical theory of thermodynamics and many others, which gave a strong impetus to the development of modern sciences. The name of Gibbs is immortalized in many quantities in chemical thermodynamics: the Gibbs energy, the Gibbs paradox, the Gibbs-Rosebaum triangle, etc.

In 1901, Gibbs was awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London as one of the scientists who was able to analyze the ratio of chemical, electrical and thermal energy in the second law of thermodynamics.

Biographical information.

Gibbs was born on February 11, 1839 in the family of a professor of spiritual literature at Yale Divinity School. After graduating from Hopkins School, Gibbs entered Yale College and graduated with honors. Gibbs showed particular success in the study of mathematics and Latin.

In 1863, Gibbs was awarded a Ph.D. in engineering. His dissertation was called "On the shape of the teeth of gears". The last years of his life, Gibbs was a teacher at Yale: for several years he lectured students in Latin and taught natural philosophy for another year.

Since 1866, Gibbs studied in one course in Paris, Berlin and Heidelberg, where he was fortunate enough to meet Kirchhoff and Helmholtz. These two German scientists had authority in scientific circles and carried out research in chemistry, thermodynamics and other natural sciences.

In 1871, after returning to Yale, Gibbs was appointed professor of mathematical physics. He held this position for the rest of his life.

Between 1876 and 1878 Gibbs writes several scientific articles about the analysis of multiphase chemical systems using the graphical method. All Gibbs's works were collected in the brochure "On the Equilibrium of Dissimilar Substances", which is one of the most interesting works of the scientist. When writing his articles and conducting experiments, Gibbs used thermodynamics, which explained many physical and chemical processes. These scientific articles by Gibbs had a great influence in the history of the development of chemical science.

Thanks to the work of Gibbs, scientific papers were written, namely:
Explanation of the concept of chemical potential and the impact of free energy;
Was created Gibbs ensemble model, which is considered the basis of statistical mechanics;
Appeared Gibbs phase rule;

Gibbs managed to publish many articles on thermodynamics, namely on the geometric concept of thermodynamic quantities. Maxwell, studying the work of Gibbs, created a plastic model called Maxwell's thermodynamic surface. Maxwell's first model was sent to Gibbs and is now kept at Yale University.

Yale University, USA.

In 1880, Gibbs combines two mathematical ideas, Hamilton's "quaternion" and Grassmann's "outer algebra", into vector analysis. In the future, Gibbs makes new improvements to this model and writes a work on optics, and also develops an electrical theory of light. He tries not to touch upon the structural analysis of substances, since at that time there were changes in the development of subatomic particles and quantum mechanics. Gibbs thermodynamic theory It is considered the most perfect and universal, in comparison with the chemical theories already existing at that time.

In 1889 Gibbs develops his theory of statistical thermodynamics, where he manages to equip quantum mechanics and Maxwell's theory with a mathematical framework. From under the pen comes the classic textbooks on statistical thermodynamics. Gibbs made an invaluable contribution to crystallography, and used his vector method in calculating the orbits of planets and comets.

Scientific achievements of Gibbs.

As you know, the world did not immediately learn about Gibbs's scientific work, since for the first time he published his scientific work in a journal that was little read in the USA and Europe (Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Sciences). At first, not many scientists, chemists and physicists paid attention to him, but among those who paid attention to him, he was. Only after the translation of Gibbs's articles into German and French did they start talking about him in Europe. The Gibbsian theory of the phase rule was proven empirically in the work of Bahuis Rosebohm, who proved that it can be applied in various directions.

Do not think that Gibbs was little known in his time. His achievements in science aroused the interest of scientists around the world. Gibbs was respected and compared to many great scientists, namely Poincaré, Helbert, Boltzmann and Mach. It was not until the publication of Gilbert Newton Lewis and Merle Ranell's "Thermodynamics and the Free Energy of Chemical Substances" (1923) that Gibbs' research was made available to chemists from various universities that Gibbs' scientific work received particular recognition.

Many scientists, thanks to the work of Gibbs, which attracted their attention and inspired them to scientific activity, were able to develop their own theories and receive the Nobel Prize for this. Among them are Jan Diederik van der Waals, Max Planck, William Giok and others. Gibbs' work influenced the formation of the views of I. Fisher, an economist, Ph.D. at Yale.

Gibbs was the creator of vector analysis, the mathematical theory of vector analysis, statistical physics, the mathematical theory of thermodynamics and many others, which gave a major breakthrough in the development of modern sciences.

"Mathematics is a language"

D.W. Gibbs

American theoretical physicist.

One of the creators of statistical physics, the modern theory of thermodynamics.

"Introduction Gibbs probabilities into physics happened long before there was an adequate theory of the kind of probabilities that he needed. […]
The result of this revolution is that physics no longer claims to deal with what will always happen, but only with what will happen with the prevailing degree of probability.
In the beginning, in the work of Gibbs himself, this probabilistic view was based on a Newtonian foundation, where the elements whose probability was to be determined were systems obeying Newtonian laws. Gibbs's theory was essentially a new theory, but the permutations with which it was compatible remained the same as those considered Newton.
The further development of physics consisted in the fact that the inert Newtonian basis was discarded or changed, and the Gibbs randomness now appears in all its nakedness as the integral basis of physics.
It is true, of course, that the subject is far from exhausted in this question, and that Einstein and to a certain extent Louis de Broglie argue that a strictly deterministic world is more acceptable than a probabilistic world; however, these great scientists are fighting a rearguard action against the overwhelming forces of the younger generation.
One of the interesting changes that has taken place in physics is that in the probabilistic world we no longer deal with quantities and judgments that apply to a particular real universe as a whole, but instead pose questions that can be answered by assuming a huge number of such worlds. Thus, the case was admitted not just as a mathematical instrument of research in physics, but as its indivisible part.

Norbert Wiener, Cybernetics and Society / Creator and Future, M., "Ast", 2003, p. 13-14.

“The idea of ​​a case began to be introduced into the science of physics from the end of the 19th century.
They, apparently, did not bother at all with the question of the philosophical understanding of the case.
They needed to explain and describe the world, and this description did not fit into the framework of deterministic ideas. Some phenomena began to be well described in probabilistic language.
The milestones of this path are well known: the creation Maxwell And Boltzmann kinetic theory of matter; statement Boltzmann that our world is only the result of a huge fluctuation; introduction Gibbs ensemble concepts led to the creation of not only statistical physics, but also something much more - a new worldview in physics; the study of Brownian motion, which served as an impetus for the development of the theory of random functions, and, finally, the development of quantum mechanics.
But who was concerned about the philosophical or even logical grounds for the legitimacy of such an approach? The world of observed phenomena was well described - this was a sufficient reason.

Nalimov V.V. , Oblik nauki, St. Petersburg, "MBA", 2010, p. 146.

"In a number of biographical materials about Gibbs as a riddle, it is indicated that he published his articles in a little-known magazine. Most often, works published in such publications are simply lost. Nevertheless, many leading European scientists knew his works well even before they were translated into other languages. And in order to start translating voluminous materials, it was necessary to have a good idea of ​​both their content and their meaning.

The mathematician Gian-Carlo Rota was once browsing through the shelves in the Yale University library.

There he suddenly stumbled upon a manuscript Gibbs with a list of addresses pinned to it. It turned out that Gibbs sent them to the leading mathematicians of the day. There were over two hundred recipients on the list. Among them were famous scientists such as Poincaré, Mach, Boltzmann and many others. Now no one doubts that Gibbs, without much publicity, sent his work to the leading scientists of the time. The full list of recipients to whom Gibbs sent his writings included 507 surnames.

If someone's work is actually carefully read by at least fifty major scientists, then the main task of the researcher can be considered completed. This is quite enough to assert that the scientific community has become familiar with it. The fact that the distribution was repeated for a long time and stubbornly can be considered convincing, but, of course, indirect evidence that the articles were read by the addressees. After all, persistent mailing of materials to people who do not want to read them is a very doubtful thing.

The fact that no one was particularly aware of such a wide distribution Gibbs of his materials, simply speaks of the peculiarities of his character.

Romanenko V.N., Nikitina G.V., Forerunners (biographical lessons), St. Petersburg, Norma, 2015, p. 166-167.