Irving Langmuir

Irving Langmuir (January 31, 1881 in Brooklyn, New York - August 16, 1957 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts) was an American chemist and physicist. While at G.E., from 1909-1950, Langmuir advanced several basic fields of physics and chemistry, invented the gas filled incandescent lamp, the hydrogen welding technique, and was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work in surface chemistry.

Later years

Following World War I Langmuir contributed to atomic theory and the understanding of atomic structure by defining the modern concept of valence shells and isotopes.

Related Topics:
World War I - Isotope

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He joined Katherine Blodgett to study thin films and surface adsorption. They introduced the concept of a monolayer (a layer of material one molecule thick) and the two dimensional physics which describes such a surface. In 1932 he received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry "for his discoveries and investigations in surface chemistry."

Related Topics:
Katherine Blodgett - Monolayer - Nobel Prize for Chemistry

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In 1938, Langmuir refuted the claim of entomologist Charles H. T. Townsend that the deer botfly flew at speeds in excess of 800 miles per hour. Langmuir estimated the fly's true speed at 25 miles per hour.

Related Topics:
Charles H. T. Townsend - Deer botfly

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During World War II Langmuir worked to develop protective smoke screens and methods for de-icing aircraft wings. This research led him to discover that the introduction of dry ice and iodide into a sufficiently moist cloud of low temperature could induce precipitation (cloud seeding), allowing some degree of weather control.

Related Topics:
World War II - Dry ice - Iodide - Cloud seeding - Weather control

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In 1953 Langmuir presented a colloquium on Pathological science.

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