Onsager, Lars

Onsager, Lars
born Nov. 27, 1903, Oslo, Nor.
died Oct. 5, 1976, Coral Gables, Fla., U.S.

Norwegian-born U.S. chemist.

He immigrated to the U.S. and taught principally at Yale University. His development of a general theory of irreversible chemical processes, described as the "fourth law of thermodynamics," gained him a 1968 Nobel Prize. He also applied the laws of thermodynamics to systems not in equilibrium. His explanation of the movement of ions in solution as related to turbulence and fluid density had a major effect on the development of physical chemistry.

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▪ American chemist
born Nov. 27, 1903, Kristiania [now Oslo], Nor.
died Oct. 5, 1976, Coral Gables, Fla., U.S.

      Norwegian-born American chemist whose development of a general theory of irreversible chemical processes gained him the 1968 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

      His early work in statistical mechanics attracted the attention of the Dutch chemist Peter Debye, under whose direction Onsager studied at the Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich (1926–28). He then went to the United States and taught at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and Brown University, Providence, R.I. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1935. He had joined the faculty of Yale in 1933 and became professor of theoretical chemistry there in 1945.

      Onsager's first achievement was to modify (1925) the Debye-Hückel theory of electrolytic dissociation, which describes the motions of ions in solution, to take into account Brownian movement. He received the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work in nonequilibrium thermodynamics, which applied the laws of thermodynamics to systems that are not in equilibrium—i.e., to systems in which differences in temperature, pressure, or other factors exist. Onsager also was able to formulate a general mathematical expression about the behaviour of nonreversible chemical processes that has been described as the “fourth law of thermodynamics.”

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Onsager , Lars — (1903–1976) Norwegian–American chemist Born at Christiania (now Oslo) in Norway, Onsager was educated at the Norwegian Institute of Technology. He moved to America in 1928 and obtained his PhD at Yale in 1935. He spent virtually his whole career… …   Scientists

  • Onsager,Lars — On·sa·ger (ônʹsä gər), Lars. 1903 1976. Norwegian born American chemist. He won a 1968 Nobel Prize for the development of a system of equations in thermodynamics. * * * …   Universalium

  • Onsager, Lars — ► (1903 76) Químico noruego. Fue premio Nobel de Química en 1968, por el desarrollo de una teoría general de los procesos químicos irreversibles. * * * (27 nov. 1903, Oslo, Noruega–5 oct. 1976, Coral Gables, Fla., EE.UU.). Químico estadounidense… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Onsager — Lars …   Scientists

  • Onsager — Onsager, Lars …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Lars Onsager — Born November 27, 1903(1903 11 27 …   Wikipedia

  • ONSAGER (L.) — ONSAGER LARS (1903 1976) Chimiste et physicien américain né à Oslo de parents norvégiens. Dès 1925, Lars Onsager obtient dans cette ville son diplôme d’ingénieur chimiste à l’École technique supérieure de Norvège. Au cours de ses études, Lars… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Lars Onsager — Nacimiento 27 de noviembre de 1903 Oslo Fallecimiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • Lars Onsager — (* 27. November 1903 in Kristiania, heute Oslo; † 5. Oktober 1976 in Coral Gables (Florida) in der Nähe von Miami) war ein norwegischer Physikochemiker und theoretischer Physiker. 1968 wurde er mit dem Nobelpreis für Chemie ausgezeichnet.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Onsager — may refer to: Lars Onsager, a Norwegian–American physical chemist and theoretical physicist Onsager reciprocal relations, certain relations between flows and forces in thermodynamic systems This disambiguation page lists articles associated with… …   Wikipedia

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