Johannes Diderik van der Waals was a distinguished Dutch theoretical physicist born on November 23, 1837, in Leiden, Netherlands, to Jacobus van der Waals, a carpenter, and Elisabeth van den Burg. Despite his working-class origins, he pursued academic excellence through self-study and formal examinations, eventually earning teaching certificates in mathematics and physics from the University of Leiden in 1865. His academic journey progressed from teaching positions at secondary schools in Deventer and The Hague to becoming the inaugural professor of physics at the newly established University of Amsterdam in 1876, a position that cemented his legacy in Dutch academia. Throughout his career, van der Waals maintained strong connections with the University of Leiden, where he had earned his doctorate and later served as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences.
Van der Waals achieved international recognition with his groundbreaking 1873 doctoral thesis, On the Continuity of the Gas and Liquid State, which introduced his revolutionary equation of state that unified the understanding of gaseous and liquid phases of matter. His work demonstrated that these two states of aggregation not only merge continuously but are fundamentally of the same nature, challenging contemporary scientific understanding of the time. By incorporating molecular volume and intermolecular forces into his equation, van der Waals provided the first realistic model for non-ideal gases, effectively replacing the Boyle-Gay Lussac law for practical applications. This seminal contribution earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1910, with the Nobel Committee specifically recognizing his work on the equation of state for gases and liquids. His research methods, including the principle of corresponding states, later proved instrumental in the liquefaction of helium and hydrogen, advancing the field of cryogenics significantly.
The theoretical framework established by van der Waals fundamentally affirmed the reality of molecules at a time when molecular theory was still contested among physicists, providing critical evidence for the molecular hypothesis through quantitative analysis. His namesake van der Waals forces, representing weak intermolecular attractions, became foundational concepts in both physics and chemistry, influencing subsequent research in molecular physics and thermodynamics. Van der Waals served as secretary of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences from 1896 to 1912, actively shaping scientific discourse in the Netherlands while continuing his research on binary solutions and phase equilibria. Despite personal tragedy following his wife's death in 1881, which led to a decade-long publication hiatus, his scientific legacy endures through his equations that remain essential tools in modern physics and chemistry education. Today, van der Waals' contributions continue to influence contemporary research in condensed matter physics, materials science, and chemical engineering, with his work receiving renewed recognition through commemorations such as the 2020 mural in Leiden celebrating his enduring scientific impact.
