Walther Hermann Nernst

2026-01-21 09:31:15

Walther Hermann Nernst (Wąbrzeźno, Prussia, June 25, 1864 – November 18, 1941, Bad Muskau, Saxony) was a German physicist and chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "in recognition of his work on thermodynamics" (1920). Based on the work of Svante Arrhenius and Franz van't Hoff, he described the processes in galvanic cells (1889). He described the electrochemical process using a differential equation, the solution to which is known as the Nernst equation. This equation is valid not only for galvanic cells but also for any oxidation-reduction reaction, and also links electrochemistry and thermodynamics. He formulated the Nernst distribution law (1891), which found application in chromatography and extraction. He studied the potential difference at phase boundaries, for example, between silver and silver chloride (1892). Together with Paul Walden, he established the relationship between the dissociation of salts and acids in various solvents and the dielectric constant of these solvents. He was awarded the Franklin Medal (1928).