Daniel Berthelot Part I. Contribution to thermodynamics

Abstract

Daniel Berthelot (1865-1927) did fundamental research on the conductivity of electrolyte solutions, thermodynamics, pyrometry, and photochemistry. In thermodynamics he proved that the limiting density of gases can be used to determine their atomic and molecular weights; he provided the first proof that the principle of corresponding states requires a third parameter and discovered several thermodynamic loci that could be used for this purpose. He improved the van der Waals equation of state by making the term a/v2 a function of the temperature and developed a new equation of state that may be considered the basis of the Redlich-Kwong equation of state. Keywords: atomic weights; corresponding states; equation of state, virial coefficient, Troutons rule