Irving Langmuir
Langmuir, Irving (1881-1957), a United States chemist and physicist. Langmuir's study of oil films on water revealed that the molecules of oil form a single layer on the surface. Further research enabled him to discover the size, speed, and electrical charge of atoms. For this work in surface (two-dimensional) chemistry, Lang-muir received the 1932 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
With Gilbert N. Lewis, Langmuir originated a theory of atomic structure. In 1947 he developed ways of artificially producing rain and snow.
Langmuir was born in Brooklyn, New York. He studied at the Columbia School of Mines and at the University of Gttingen, Germany, where he received a Ph.D. in 1906. From 1909 to 1950 Langmuir worked in the General Electric Company Laboratories, where he was free to investigate any problem he wished. His gas-filled incandescent lamp was a major improvement over Thomas Edison's vacuum lamp. His high-vacuum power tube contributed to radio broadcasting. Langmuir's other inventions include a high-vacuum pump, electron discharge apparatus, and atomic-hydrogen welding.