James Dewar

Sir James Dewar ( born September 20, 1842 in Kincardine, Scotland, † March 27, 1923 in London, England) was a Scottish physicist and chemist.

Dewar studied at Edinburgh University, where he was assistant Lyon Playfair, went to Ghent, where he further developed itself in August Kekulé later. Dewar examined, inter alia, the oxidation products of nicotine, the conversion of aniline in quinoline, the physical constants of the hydrogen, and the physiological effect of the light.

Dewar in 1867 a structure for benzene suggested that not hardened himself. The substance described by him is still referred to as Dewar benzene, it was first produced in 1962.

Since the 1870s, he worked on the low-temperature physics and wrote several treatises on liquid air. In 1874 he used a double-walled, evacuated metal vessel in his experiments. Dewar invented in 1893 a double-wall, consisting of mirrored glass evacuated transport and storage vessel for liquid gases, which is named after him dewar, and after its principle jugs and containers are constructed for the storage of dry ice and liquid gases today. A precursor of such a vessel, but without mirroring of the inner glass side, Adolf Ferdinand Weinhold described already in 1881 in his book Physical demonstrations for representing solid mercury by cooling.

With Frederick Augustus Abel, he invented the smokeless powder military application has been found, and the explosive cordite. With Henri Moissan Dewar succeeded in 1897, the liquefaction of fluorine and in 1898 that of hydrogen. In 1899 he let solidify hydrogen and created around 14 Kelvin the hitherto lowest temperature at the present with the exception of helium, all substances in the solid state.

Dewar was several times nominated for the Nobel Prize.