chemistry

William Giauque

William Giauque is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand William Giauque rather than just read about it. In short: William Francis Giauque (; May 12, 1895 – March 28, 1982) was a Canadian-born American chemist and Nobel laureate. He was recognized in 1949, for his studies in the properties of matter, at temperatures close to absolute zero.

Key takeaways

William Giauque belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect William Giauque to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of William Giauque from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

William Francis Giauque (; May 12, 1895 – March 28, 1982) was a Canadian-born American chemist and Nobel laureate. He was recognized in 1949, for his studies in the properties of matter, at temperatures close to absolute zero. He spent virtually all of his educational and professional career at the University of California, Berkeley.

Biography William Francis Giauque was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on May 12, 1895. His father (William Tecumseh Giauque) was an American citizen, and so William Francis Giauque was conferred American citizenship, despite being born in Canada, In 1926, he proposed a method for observing temperatures considerably below 1 Kelvin (1 K is −457.87 °F or −272.15 °C). He developed a magnetic refrigeration device of his own design in order to achieve this outcome, getting closer to absolute zero than many scientists had thought possible. This trailblazing work, apart from proving one of the fundamental laws of nature led to stronger steel, better gasoline and more efficient processes in a range of industries. Giauque was elected a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1936, a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1940, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1950.

Personal life In 1932, Giauque married Dr. Muriel Frances Ashley and they had two sons. He died on March 28, 1982, in Berkeley, California.

Notes

References Shampo, Marc A; Kyle, Robert A; Steensma, David P (2006). "Stamp vignette on medical science. William F. Giauque—Nobel Prize for low-temperature research". Mayo Clin. Proc. Vol. 81, no. 5 (published May 2006). p. 587. doi:10.4065/81.5.587. PMID 16706253.

External links National Academy of Sciences biography William Giauque on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture on December 12, 1949 Some Consequences of Low Temperature Research in Chemical Thermodynamics Contributions in the field of chemical thermodynamics, particularly concerning the behaviour of substances at extremely low temperatures at the Wayback Machine (archived March 11, 2007). M. A. Shampo; R. A. Kyle; D. P. Steensma (2006). "William F. Giauque—Nobel Prize for Low-Temperature Research". Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 81 (5): 587. doi:10.4065/81.5.587. PMID 16706253.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William Giauque

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William Giauque claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to William Giauque before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about William Giauque ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of William Giauque

In research: William Giauque appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses William Giauque in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: William Giauque is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1895 births, 1982 deaths, 20th-century American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William Giauque outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study William Giauque in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what William Giauque means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain William Giauque out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is William Giauque in simple terms?

Why does William Giauque matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study William Giauque?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on William Giauque.