In 1921, Walther Nernst was awarded the Chemistry Nobel Prize reserved from the year 1920. He had been nominated several times earlier for various contributions: the equation for calculating electromotive force named after him; the discovery of the glow lamp, better known as the Nernst lamp; the theory of nerve stimulation; the Third Law of Thermodynamics and his book, "The Theoretical and Experimental Fundamentals of the New Heat Law."
Based on authentic documents such as nomination letters, and reports from the Nobel Committee and its experts, this book poses to answer several key questions:
1. Were the decisions of the Chemistry and Physics Nobel Committees justified in rejecting the nominators' claim until 1921?
2. To what extent was S. Arrhenius, the expert of the Nobel Committees, responsible for Nernst having to wait for 15 years to receive the Nobel Prize?
3. The role of W. Nernst both as a Nobel Prize nominator and nominee.
Rajinder Singh
Walther Nernst Max Planck Nobel Prizes S. Arrhenius Third law of themodynamics diffusion theory First World War Solvay Conference, Universities of Göttingen and Berlin