Johannes Diderik van der Waals

Johannes Diderik van der Waals (Dutch: [joːˈɦɑnəz ˈdidəˌrɪk fɑn dɛr ˈʋaːls]; 23 November 1837 – 8 March 1923) was a Dutch theoretical physicist and thermodynamicist famous for his work on an equation of state for gases and liquids.

His name is primarily associated with the van der Waals equation of state that describes the behavior of gases and their condensation to the liquid phase. His name is also associated with van der Waals forces (forces between stable molecules), with van der Waals molecules (small molecular clusters bound by van der Waals forces), and with van der Waals radii (sizes of molecules). As James Clerk Maxwell said about Van der Waals, "there can be no doubt that the name of Van der Waals will soon be among the foremost in molecular science."