Van der Waals and Other Model Equations of State

In 1873, Dutch physicist J. D. Van der Waals (Sidebar 2.9) presented (in his doctoral thesis) the celebrated equation of state that now bears his name. The Van der Waals equation of state may be written in a form 

Van der Waals Nobel lecture (December 12, 1910) gives deep insight into his lifelong struggle to understand and extend his famous namesake equation, organized into four main points  

Van der Waals acknowledges the profound influence of Clausius 1857 paper on the kinetic theory of heat, which provided the first correct proof of Maxwell s velocity distribution law and led to the 

Van der Waals clearly recognized the two factors (associated with his a, b parameters) that prevent exact agreement with Boyle s law, as well as the remaining discrepancy with experiment that continually obsesses me, I can never free myself from it, it is with me even in my dreams.  

Van der Waals emphasizes his conviction that the constant b actually carries significant V dependence, and his astonishment ( to my great joy ) to learn that such dependence does not detract from essential consistency with the law of corresponding states. 

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