Walther Hermann Nernst:
Walther Hermann Nernst was a Prussian physical chemist and Nobel laureate.
Birth:
June 25, 1864 in Briesen, Prussia
Death:
November 18, 1941 in Muskau, Germany
Claim to Fame:
Nernst was a Prussian chemist and one of the pioneers of modern physical chemistry. He was awarded the 1920 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to thermochemistry. He introduced the third law of thermodynamics concerning the impossiblility to achieve a temperature of absolute zero. As the temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of the system reaches a minimum.
He is also known for the Nernst equation describing the equilibrium potential of a half-cell electrochemical battery.