Peter Debye Biography, Age, Weight, Height, Friend, Like, Affairs, Favourite, Birthdate & Other

1963 – Priestley Medal 1930 – Rumford Medal Franklin Medal 1966 – National Medal of Science for Physical Science

Peter Debye was one of the leading physical chemists of his time whose studies in the field of molecular structure helped mankind develop a greater understanding of the subject. Having studied under the likes of great stalwarts like Arnold Sommerfeld, he began his academic career at the University of Munich after obtaining a degree in electrical engineering.

His prowess in the field marvelled his colleagues and contemporaries alike, when he propounded a simpler explanation of the Planck radiation formula. His reputation received a further boost when he was asked to succeed the legendary theoretical physicist Albert Einstein at the University of Zurich. It was in Zurich that he made his most remarkable discovery. He studied the structure of covalent bond in great detail and explained it using the concept dipole moment.

He even conducted various light scattering experiments with Paul Scherrer and the duo came up with the Debye-Scherrer method. With the Nazi oppression on the rise he moved to United States where he spent his remaining life teaching and eventually obtained an American citizenship. Recently there have been speculations of his alliance with the Nazis and that he demanded resignation of Jewish employees in the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, while he was the director. Read on to know more about his life and works.