Langmuir, Irving 1881-1957

LANGMUIR, IRVING 1881-1957

Chemist and physicist, nobel laureate

Education

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on 31 January 1881 to an insurance executive and his wife, Irving Langmuir studied chemistry, physics, and mathematics at Columbia University and received a degree from the university's School of Mines in metallurgical engineering in 1903. Langmuir studied under the future Nobel laureate Walther Nernst at the University of Göttingen in Germany, receiving the Ph.D. in 1906 for his dissertation on the study of heated platinum wire and low pressure gases. Upon his return to the United States he taught at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Research Scientist

In 1909 Langmuir took a full-time position as a researcher at the General Electric Company's research laboratory in Schenectady, New York. At G E Langmuir made a major contribution to the development of the modern lightbulb when he proved that adding inert gas to the bulb enhanced the life of the tungsten filament and made the lightbulb more energy efficient. His work on a mercury vacuum pump, which created a vacuum more than one hundred times better than those in use at the time, became an important element in the development of radio tubes. He made improvements to electrical stoves and developed a hydrogen welding torch. Langmuir also investigated atomic structure and engaged in groundbreaking research on electrically charged gases that he dubbed "plasma." His plasma research was subsequently used by physicists in the development of thermonuclear fusion. During World War I he worked on nitrate production and antisubmarine defense projects. In World War II he dedicated himself to smoke-screen research and to the chemical deicing of airplanes.

The Chemistry of Surfaces

At GE during the 1910s Langmuir began his studies of surface chemistry that led in 1932 to his becoming the second American to win the Nobel Prize in chemistry. He developed several experimental techniques for studying surface chemicals only a single molecule in thickness and developed a theory of absorption to describe the interaction of surface molecules. As the first scientist employed by an industrial research lab to receive the Nobel Prize, Langmuir's career demonstrated the usefulness of the R and D facilities in both industry and applied science.

Cloud Seeding

Toward the end of his career he became fascinated with atmospheric science, and along with V. J. Schaefer he developed techniques for "seeding" clouds with dry ice and silver iodine to make rain. Over the course of his career Langmuir, a popular public speaker, was granted sixty-three patents, published more than two hundred papers, and was awarded fifteen honorary degrees. He died of a heart attack on 16 August 1957 and has since been heralded as one of the greatest chemists in United States history.

Sources:

Thomas P. Hughes, American Genesis: A Century of Invention (New York: Viking-Penguin, 1989);

Leonard S. Reich, "Irving Langmuir and the Pursuit of Science and Technology in the Corporate Environment," Technology and Culture (October 1983): 199-221.