102117 | BELGIUM & THE NETHERLANDS. J. D. van der Waals bronze Medal.

102117  |  BELGIUM & THE NETHERLANDS. Johannes Diderik van der Waals bronze Medal. Issued 1911. The Belgo-Dutch Society of the Friends of Medallic Art: van der Waals–the Nobel Prize in physics, issue 26 (65mm, 118.47 g, 12h). By F. E. Jeltsema.

 

PROF DR J D VAN DER WAALS ÆTATIS LXXIII, bust left / NED–BELG-VEREENIGING-DER-PENNING-VRIENDEN / NOBELPRIJS-1910, a three-dimensional representation of van der Waals isotherms, with respect to pressure, volume, and temperature, along with his equation: (p + a/v²) = RT/(v-b); all set upon laurel branch. Edge: Plain.

 

Choice Mint State. Olive-brown surfaces. An excellent representation of mathematics in medallic art.

 

The Société hollando-belge des amis de la médaille d'art, similar to American series such as the Circle of Friends of the Medallion, the Society of Medalists, and even the still-active Brookgreen Gardens issues, was an annual series of medallic art, each featuring different designs and themes by some of the most acclaimed sculptors and engravers in Belgium and the Netherlands. The series produced numerous medals from 1901-1920, eventually becoming Les amis de la médaille d’art, active from 1920-1959.

 

Johannes Diderik van der Waals was an important Dutch physicist, most notably for his groundbreaking work in molecular theory involving gases and liquids. One of his most famous works, his eponymous "van der Waals equation," is equation of state that generalizes the ideal gas law. In 1910, he was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics—the occasion for the topic of this medal.

 

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