John Lennard-Jones
Encyclopedia
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FRS (27 October 1894 – 1 November 1954) was a mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
who was a professor of theoretical physics at Bristol University, and then of theoretical science
Theoretical chemistry
Theoretical chemistry seeks to provide theories that explain chemical observations. Often, it uses mathematical and computational methods that, at times, require advanced knowledge. Quantum chemistry, the application of quantum mechanics to the understanding of valency, is a major component of...
at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He may be regarded as the initiator of modern computational chemistry
Computational chemistry
Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses principles of computer science to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses the results of theoretical chemistry, incorporated into efficient computer programs, to calculate the structures and properties of molecules and solids...
.
Lennard-Jones is well-known among scientists for his work on molecular structure
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
, valency and intermolecular force
Intermolecular force
Intermolecular forces are forces of attraction or repulsion which act between neighboring particles: atoms, molecules or ions. They are weak compared to the intramolecular forces, the forces which keep a molecule together...
s. Much research of these topics over several decades grew from a paper he published in 1929. His theories of liquid
Liquid
Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...
s and of surface catalysis
Catalysis
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
also remain influential. He wrote few, though influential papers.
His main interest was of atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
ic and molecular structure, especially the forces between atomic particles, the nature of chemical bond
Chemical bond
A chemical bond is an attraction between atoms that allows the formation of chemical substances that contain two or more atoms. The bond is caused by the electromagnetic force attraction between opposite charges, either between electrons and nuclei, or as the result of a dipole attraction...
s and such basic matters as why water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
expands when it freezes. Holding the first Chair of Theoretical Chemistry in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, he established a research school applying to phenomena in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
new concepts of quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
and the interactions of subatomic particles. The department attracted many notable scientists and mathematicians, including S.F. Boys, C.A. Coulson
Charles Coulson
Charles Alfred Coulson FRS was an applied mathematician, theoretical chemist and religious author.His major scientific work was as a pioneer of the application of the quantum theory of valency to problems of molecular structure, dynamics and reactivity...
, G.G. Hall, A. Hurley, and J. Pople
John Pople
Sir John Anthony Pople, KBE, FRS, was a Nobel-Prize winning theoretical chemist. Born in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England, he attended Bristol Grammar School. He won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1943. He received his B. A. in 1946. Between 1945 and 1947 he worked at the Bristol...
.
Atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
s of a noble gas
Noble gas
The noble gases are a group of chemical elements with very similar properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with very low chemical reactivity...
interact via a potential in which an attracting van der Waals force balances a repelling force which results from overlapping electron
Electron
The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
orbits. A well known approximation to this potential is the so-called Lennard-Jones potential
Lennard-Jones potential
The Lennard-Jones potential is a mathematically simple model that approximates the interaction between a pair of neutral atoms or molecules. A form of the potential was first proposed in 1924 by John Lennard-Jones...
, a description of the potential energy as a function of the separation of the atoms. Also named after him, the Lennard-Jones Laboratory houses the School of Chemistry and Physics at Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
. The Royal Society of Chemistry
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry is a learned society in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences." It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society and the Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new...
awards a Lennard-Jones Medal and hosts the Lennard-Jones lecture each year.
Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
holds a collection of Lennard-Jones's published work, as well as a laboratory named in his honour. Professor C.A. Coulson’s collected lecture notes from 1928–1932, held in the Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
Library, record Lennard-Jones's lectures. Coulson wrote 'I suspect that these are the first lectures on theoretical chemistry
Theoretical chemistry
Theoretical chemistry seeks to provide theories that explain chemical observations. Often, it uses mathematical and computational methods that, at times, require advanced knowledge. Quantum chemistry, the application of quantum mechanics to the understanding of valency, is a major component of...
(or perhaps more accurately quantum chemistry
Quantum chemistry
Quantum chemistry is a branch of chemistry whose primary focus is the application of quantum mechanics in physical models and experiments of chemical systems...
) that had been given in Britain'. Lennard-Jones’s private papers are held at Churchill Archives Centre, in Cambridge.
John Edward Jones married Kathleen Lennard in 1926, adding his new wife's surname to his own to become Lennard-Jones. They had two children, John and Mary. John had four sons, one of whom was named David (the eldest) who in turn had a son named Alexander (also the eldest), more commonly referred to as Lenny.
Life in overview
1894 Born in Leigh, LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, as John Edward Jones, and educated at Leigh Grammar School where he specialised in classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
.
- 1912 Studied mathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
as an undergraduate at the University of ManchesterUniversity of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group... - 1915-18 First World WarWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
service in the Royal Flying CorpsRoyal Flying CorpsThe Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance... - 1919-22 Studies for Doctor of Science degree and lectures in Mathematics at Manchester University.
- 1922 Receives Doctor of Science degree at Manchester
- 1922-4 Research student with a Senior 1851 Exhibition at Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, supervised by Ralph H. FowlerRalph H. FowlerSir Ralph Howard Fowler OBE FRS was a British physicist and astronomer.-Education:Fowler was initially educated at home but then attended Evans' preparatory school at Horris Hill and Winchester College...
. Sydney Chapman, then ProfessorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Mathematics at Manchester, had been a Lecturer at Trinity in 1914, and advised Jones to apply there. - 1924 Receives Doctor of Science degree at Cambridge. Proposes a semi-empirical interatomic force law.
- 1925 Marries Kathleen Lennard, adding his wife's surname to his own to become Lennard-Jones.
- 1925-32 Professor of Theoretical Physics, Bristol University
- 1929 Paper [3] introduces the Linear Combination of Atomic OrbitalsLinear combination of atomic orbitals molecular orbital methodA linear combination of atomic orbitals or LCAO is a quantum superposition of atomic orbitals and a technique for calculating molecular orbitals in quantum chemistry. In quantum mechanics, electron configurations of atoms are described as wavefunctions...
approximation for molecular orbitals - 1929 Brings to Bristol Gerhard HerzbergGerhard HerzbergGerhard Heinrich Friedrich Otto Julius Herzberg, was a pioneering physicist and physical chemist, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1971, "for his contributions to the knowledge of electronic structure and geometry of molecules, particularly free radicals". Herzberg's main work concerned...
(1971 Nobel Laureate for chemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
) to study spectraSpectroscopySpectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
of di-DiatomicDiatomic molecules are molecules composed only of two atoms, of either the same or different chemical elements. The prefix di- means two in Greek. Common diatomic molecules are hydrogen , nitrogen , oxygen , and carbon monoxide . Seven elements exist in the diatomic state in the liquid and solid...
& poly-Polyatomic ionA polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a charged species composed of two or more atoms covalently bonded or of a metal complex that can be considered as acting as a single unit in the context of acid and base chemistry or in the formation of salts. The prefix "poly-" means "many," in...
atomic molecules. - 1930-2 Dean of the Faculty of Science, Bristol University
- 1931 Paper [4] introduces method for the atomic Self-Consistent Field (SCF) equations. Proposes the Lennard-Jones potentialLennard-Jones potentialThe Lennard-Jones potential is a mathematically simple model that approximates the interaction between a pair of neutral atoms or molecules. A form of the potential was first proposed in 1924 by John Lennard-Jones...
. - 1932-53 John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Theoretical ChemistryJohn Humphrey Plummer Professor of Theoretical ChemistryThe John Humphrey Plummer Professorship of Theoretical Chemistry was established in 1932 from a bequest of £200,000 under the will of John Humphrey Plummer, an estate agent of Southport, to the University of Cambridge for the advancement of science....
, Cambridge UniversityUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. Founded the theoretical chemistry section of Cambridge University Chemical Laboratory. - 1934 Paper [5] applies group theoryGroup theoryIn mathematics and abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as groups.The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, fields, and vector spaces can all be seen as groups endowed with additional operations and...
to explain energies & structures of hydrocarbonHydrocarbonIn organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
free radicals - 1933 Elected a fellow of the Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
- 1934 Graduate student Charles Coulson (in 1972 Oxford University's first Professor of Theoretical Chemistry) completes PhD
- 1937 Paper [6] on conjugated hydrocarbons
- 1937 First Director of Cambridge University Mathematical Laboratory (now Cambridge University Computing LaboratoryUniversity of Cambridge Computer LaboratoryThe Computer Laboratory is the computer science department of the University of Cambridge. As of 2007, it employs 35 academic staff, 25 support staff, 35 affiliated research staff, and about 155 research students...
) with Maurice Wilkes as researcher. - 1939 At outbreak of war, seconded as Chief Superintendent of Armament Research to the Ministry of Supply which took over the mathematical laboratory for ballisticsBallisticsBallistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.A ballistic body is a body which is...
calculations, developed a team of mathematicians for this purpose. - 1942-5 Director-General of Scientific Research (Defence), Ministry of Supply
- 1942-7 Member of the Advisory Council of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
- 1946 Knighted (KBE), returns to Cambridge
- 1947-53 Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council at the Ministry of Supply
- 1948-50 President of the Faraday SocietyFaraday SocietyThe Faraday Society was a British society for the study of physical chemistry, founded in 1903 and named in honour of Michael Faraday. It merged with several similar organisations in 1980 to form the Royal Society of Chemistry...
- 1949 Paper [7] justifies use of diatomic orbitalsMolecular orbitalIn chemistry, a molecular orbital is a mathematical function describing the wave-like behavior of an electron in a molecule. This function can be used to calculate chemical and physical properties such as the probability of finding an electron in any specific region. The term "orbital" was first...
only for valence electrons by showing the determinantal wave functionSchrödinger equationThe Schrödinger equation was formulated in 1926 by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger. Used in physics , it is an equation that describes how the quantum state of a physical system changes in time....
to be invariant under unitary transformations that could accurately transform molecular orbitals into localized equivalent orbitals. - 1950 Paper [8] completely defines molecular orbitals as eigenfunctionEigenfunctionIn mathematics, an eigenfunction of a linear operator, A, defined on some function space is any non-zero function f in that space that returns from the operator exactly as is, except for a multiplicative scaling factor. More precisely, one has...
s of the SCF HamiltonianHamiltonian (quantum mechanics)In quantum mechanics, the Hamiltonian H, also Ȟ or Ĥ, is the operator corresponding to the total energy of the system. Its spectrum is the set of possible outcomes when one measures the total energy of a system... - 1951 Graduate student John PopleJohn PopleSir John Anthony Pople, KBE, FRS, was a Nobel-Prize winning theoretical chemist. Born in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England, he attended Bristol Grammar School. He won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1943. He received his B. A. in 1946. Between 1945 and 1947 he worked at the Bristol...
(1998 Nobel Laureate for chemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
) completes PhD - 1953 Awarded Royal Society's Davy MedalDavy MedalThe Davy Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "for an outstandingly important recent discovery in any branch of chemistry". Named after Humphry Davy, the medal is awarded with a gift of £1000. The medal was first awarded in 1877 to Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff "for...
for work applying quantum mechanics to the theory of valency and analysis of the structure of chemical compounds - 1953 Succeeds Alexander Lindsay as Principal of University College of North Staffordshire (now Keele UniversityKeele UniversityKeele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
). Corresponds with Linus PaulingLinus PaulingLinus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century...
about the need in England for more universities and institutes of technology. - 1954 Honorary doctorate of science, Oxford University; dies aged 60.
Papers
- Jones, J.E. (1924) Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 106, 441.
- Jones, J.E. (1924) Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 106, 463.
- Lennard-Jones, J.E. (1929) Trans.Faraday Soc. 25, 668.
- Lennard-Jones, J.E. (1931) Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc. 27, 469.
- Lennard-Jones, J.E. (1934) Trans. Faraday Soc. 30, 70.
- Lennard-Jones, J.E. (1937) Proc. Roy. Soc. A158, 280.
- Lennard-Jones, Sir John (1949) Proc. Roy. Soc. A198, 1,14.
- Hall, G.G. and Lennard-Jones, Sir John (1950) Proc. Roy. Soc. A202, 155.