Josiah Willard Gibbs

Josiah Willard Gibbs was an American physicist and mathematician known for his foundational contributions to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. He developed the concept of Gibbs free energy, which helps predict whether a chemical reaction will occur under certain conditions. Gibbs also formulated the Gibbs ensemble, which provides a statistical framework for understanding the behavior of particles in thermodynamic systems. His work connects the microscopic behavior of individual particles to the macroscopic properties of materials, bridging classical thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, significantly advancing our understanding of physical systems and chemistry.