Irving Langmuir

Irving Langmuir

Irving Langmuir was an American chemist, physicist, and engineer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932 for his work in surface chemistry. While at General Electric, he invented the gas-filled incandescent lamp and the hydrogen welding technique. He also invented the diagnostic method for measuring temperature and density with an electrostatic probe.

About Irving Langmuir in brief

Summary Irving LangmuirIrving Langmuir was an American chemist, physicist, and engineer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932 for his work in surface chemistry. While at General Electric, he invented the gas-filled incandescent lamp and the hydrogen welding technique. He introduced the concept of electron waves in plasmas, and in 1924 invented the first plasma weld ever made. He also invented the diagnostic method for measuring temperature and density with an electrostatic probe, now a probe and commonly used in plasma physics. He died on 16 August 1957 in New Mexico. He is buried in Mount Washington, New York, with his wife and three children. He had a son and a daughter, both of whom died of cancer in the 1970s and 1980s, and a son-in-law, who died of lung cancer in 1994. In his last years, he was involved in the development of the theory of atomic energy and the design of the atomic nucleus.

He wrote a book about his work, The Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms and Molecules, which won him the Nobel prize in 1932. His brother, Arthur, was a research chemist who encouraged Irving to be curious about nature and how things work. He later taught at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, until 1909, when he began working at the General Electric research laboratory. His first major development was the improvement of the diffusion pump, which ultimately led to the invention of the high-vacuum rectifier and amplifier tubes. His hobbies included mountaineering, skiing, piloting his own plane, and classical music. He lived in New York City until his death in 1957, and later moved to New Jersey.