Irving Langmuir was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 31, 1881, as the third of four sons of Charles Langmuir and Sadie, née Comings. obtained his early education at various schools and institutes in the United States, and in Paris (1892-1895). He graduated as a metallurgical engineer from the School of Mines at Columbia University in 1903. Physical Chemistry Graduate working under Nernst in Göttingen that he was an MA and Ph.D. in 1906 Back to America, Dr. Langmuir became Instructor in Chemistry at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, where he taught until July 1909.
He then entered the General Electric Company Research Laboratory in Schenectady where he eventually became director. His first job is to solve the problems faced sekaitan with new tungsten filament bulb. Langmuir concentrate on the basic principles on which the lights work, researching chemical reactions that are catalyzed by a hot tungsten filament. He proposed to fill the bulb with nitrogen gas (and then argon gas) and the filament twist it into a spiral shape to inhibit evaporation of tungsten.
His interest in the principle that involve them in the theory of chemical bonding in the electron problem, and he describes the ideas first put forward by Lewis Gilbert.
Langmuir proposed that the octet can be filled with the pair-bond between two atoms 'covalent'. Studies in surface chemistry studies the chemical forces at the contact surface (antarpermukaan) between different substances, where so many technological and biological reactions occur-won him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932. Langmuir adsorption developed a new concept, that each of the molecules hit the surface in contact with it before evaporating, then form a monolayer, in contrast with previous theories that the earth resembles adsorption on the withdrawal of the gases in the atmosphere, where the attraction is reduced in line with the gases menjauhnya from the earth. He developed many experimental techniques, including the widespread use of vacuum tubes to study the solid-liquid antarpermukaan and oil films to study the liquid-liquid antarpermukaan.
Other practicum with theoretical implications, the electrical discharge in a gas-helped lay the founding of physics "plasma", which has applicability in the present experiments on a joint nuclear control. It maintains a long interest in meteorology, including the development work that de-ice planes during World War II. Here Langmuir overemphasized theory research, which inherently raises the initial research in the "membenihi" clouds with particles of solid carbon dioxide to create rain.
Langmuir studies embraced chemistry, physics, and engineering and is largely the result of a study of the phenomenon of vacuum. In search of atomic and molecular mechanisms of this he investigated the properties of absorbed films and disposal of electrical properties in high vacuum and certain gases at low pressure.
His work on filaments in gases directly lead to the discovery and invention gasfilled incandescent hydrogen atoms. He then used both in the development of atomic hydrogen welding process.
He was the first to see the film a very stable monatomic adsorbed on tungsten and platinum filaments, and able, after experiments with oil films on water, to formulate a general theory of the adsorbed film. He also studied the catalytic properties of the film.
Langmuir's work on space charge effects and related phenomena caused a lot of important technical developments that have a big impact on the technology later. In chemistry, his interest in the mechanism of the reaction caused him to study the structure and valence, and he contributed to the development of Lewis's theory of shared electrons.
Among the awards made to him were: Nichols Medal, (1915 and 1920); Hughes Medal (1918); Rumford Medal (1921); Cannizzaro Prize (1925); Perkin Medal (1928), School of Mines Medal (Columbia University, 1929); Chardler Medal (1929); Willard Gibbs Medal (1930); Popular Science Monthly Award (1932), Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1932); Franklin Medal and Holly Medal (1934), John Scott Award (I937); "Pioneer of Modern Industry" (1940); Faraday Medal (1944); Mascart Medal (1950). In addition, he was a Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London, Fellow of the American Physical Society, Honorary Member of the British Institute of Metals, and Chemical Society (London). He has served as president of the American Chemical Society and as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Honorary degrees are awarded to Langmuir by colleges and universities as follows: Northwestern, Union, Edinburgh (Scotland), Columbia, Kenyon, Princeton, Lehigh, Harvard, Oxford, Johns Hopkins, Rutgers, Queens (Canada), and Stevens Institute of Technology .
