Johannes Diderik van der Waals (23.11.1837-9.03.1923) - Dutch physicist, a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Born in Leiden. He graduated from the University of Leiden. In 1877–1907 professor at the University of Amsterdam.
His research concerned molecular physics and the study of low-temperature phenomena. In 1873 he derived the equation of state of a real gas that takes account of the volume of the molecules and the forces of interaction between them (the van der Waals equation), and established the continuity of the gaseous and liquid states. He was the first to consider intermolecular forces in connection with the structure of substances in the gaseous and liquid states. He proposed a theory that qualitatively explains the nature of critical phenomena. In 1910 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for work containing the equations of state of gases and liquids.
He developed a theory of binary mixtures (1890) and a thermodynamic theory of capillarity (1894). His research also dealt with electrolytic dissociation and hydrostatics.
A member of the Paris Academy of Sciences.