Walther Herman Nernst

There have only been two electrochemists honoured as Nobel Laureates and Walther Hermann Nernst was the first in 1920 when he was awarded the prize for chemistry. Nernst was a Prussian physical chemist who devoted his life to electrochemical thermodynamics. In practical terms his work in electrochemistry was undoubtedly the most important but the prize was actually awarded for the third law of thermodynamics. His professional rivalries with Haber and particularly Ostwald were bitter and he tended to be dismissive of ‘lesser mortals’, ie. most others.