van der Waals (Johannes Diderik van der Waals)

Johannes Diderik van der Waals was a Dutch physicist known for his work on understanding the behavior of gases and liquids. He proposed a model that explains how particles interact and how these interactions affect properties like pressure, temperature, and volume. Van der Waals introduced the concept of "van der Waals forces," which are weak attractions between molecules. His most notable achievement is the van der Waals equation, which adjusts the ideal gas law to account for these interactions, providing a more accurate description of real gas behavior. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1910 for his contributions.