Walther Hermann Nernst was a German physicist and physical chemist known for his work in thermodynamics, physical chemistry, electrochemistry, and solid-state physics. His formulation of the Nernst heat theorem helped pave the way for the third law of thermodynamics, for which he won the 1920 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He is also known for developing the Nernst equation in 1887.
Walther Nernst
The New Heat Theorem (1926)
Walther Nernst in 1889.
Nernst 1912, portrait by Max Liebermann
Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change. These reactions involve electrons moving via an electronically-conducting phase between electrodes separated by an ionically conducting and electronically insulating electrolyte.
English chemist John Daniell (left) and physicist Michael Faraday (right), both credited as founders of electrochemistry.
Sir Humphry Davy's portrait in the 19th century.
Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius portrait circa 1880s.
German scientist Walther Nernst portrait in the 1910s.