Debye, Peter (People)
Debye, Peter
Peter Debye (1884-1966), a Dutch-born US physical chemist whose investigations of dipole moments, X-rays, and light scattering in gases earned the 1936 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Debye's studies of dielectric constants led to the explanation of their temperature dependence and their importance in the interpretation of dipole moments as indicators of molecular structure. The unit of dielectric constant is now called the debye in his honor. Debye's work in the field of crystallography demonstrated that solid substances could be used in powdered form for X-ray study of their crystal structures, thus eliminating the difficult step of first preparing good crystals.
Further Reading
Peter Debye - Biography (Nobel Foundation)
Peter Debye - Nobel Lecture (Nobel Foundation)
Peter Josephus Wilhelmus Debye - Biography (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Chemistry)
