TABLE OF CONTENTS Several historical studies, both by professional historians and by scientists, address general aspects of the development of physical chemistry. [1] A dissertation discussing the rise of physical chemistry [2] examines the work of the three founders , Wilhelm Friedrich Ostwald (1853 1932), J. H. van't Hoff (1852 1911), and Svante Arrhenius (1859 1927). Labelling them the ionists , it treats especially their thermodynamic theory of solutions based upon ionic dissociation in electrolytes. Max Planck's (1858 1947) own theory of dissociation, first published in 1887 and largely ignored, is also discussed. The analysis revolves around four themes: the different (national) research traditions of the ionists and Planck; the particularity of each investigator in the context of these traditions; the reception of the innovations they introduced, which depended on the compatibility of their own styles with the styles of other scientists; the character of the ionists' research which, in contrast to Planck whose work was at the forefront of a specialized field, resulted from their mixing diverse, old traditions and problems with new styles and techniques.
Apart from his very influential textbooks, Partington wrote extensively on the history of chemistry. [3] The fourth volume [4] includes a detailed narrative of the various developments in physical chemistry to the 1920s. Partington's references to the original papers are still an invaluable asset of an otherwise descriptive history.
A recent book on physical chemistry, [5] written by a scientist [6]
