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Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands — Northwestern Europe
 

Het koudste plekje op aarde / The Coldest Place on Earth

Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw

— Leidse Loper / Leiden Loop —

 
 
Het koudste plekje op aarde / The Coldest Place on Earth Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, July 24, 2022
1. Het koudste plekje op aarde / The Coldest Place on Earth Marker
Inscription.  
Het koudste plekje op aarde
Het Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw is genoemd naar de geleerde Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. Deze natuurkundige slaagde er hier in 1908 als eerste ter wereld in, om helium vloeibaar te maken. Met zijn experiment bereikte hij een temperatuur die minder dan een graad verwijderd was van het absolute nulpunt (-273.15 C). Zijn laboratorium bleef tot 1923 dan ook het allerkoudste plekje op aarde. Voor dit onderzoek naar lage temperaturen, waarbij hij in 1911 ook de supergeleiding ontdekte, kreeg Heike Kamerlingh Onnes in 1913 de Nobelprijs.

Vanaf het eind van de 19e eeuw tot de Tweede Wereldoorlog maakte de Leidse universiteit een bloeiperiode door, vooral op het gebied van de natuurwetenschappen Hendrik Lorentz en Pieter Zeeman kregen in 1902 de Nobelprijs voor hun onderzoek naar magnetisme en straling. Willem Einthoven vond in 1902 de snaargalvanometer uit, waarmee hij bruikbare hartfilmpjes kon maken. Hij kreeg in 1924 de Nobelprijs voor geneeskunde. Niemand minder dan Albert Einstein werd in 1920 bijzonder hoogleraar aan de Leidse universiteit. Hij was een van de vele buitenlandse geleerden
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die in Leiden werkten of er op bezoek kwamen.

Het laboratoriumgebouw zelf verrees in de jaren 1856-1859 op de 'Kleine Ruine'. Dat was een deel van het gebied dat vijftig jaar eerder door de buskruitramp was verwoest. Het was het eerste eigen laboratorium van de Leidse universiteit. Tegenwoordig is hier de faculteit Rechten gevestigd.

The coldest place on earth
The Kamerlingh Onnes Building is named after the physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. In 1908 he became the first person in the world to make helium liquid. In his successful experiment he achieved a temperature that was less than one degree away from absolute zero (273.15 C). In 1913 Kamerlingh Onnes was awarded the Nobel Prize for this research into low temperatures, during which he also discovered superconductivity in 1911. From the end of the 19th century to the Second World War Leiden University flourished, particularly in the field of physics. In 1902 Hendrik Lorentz and Pieter Zeeman won the Nobel Prize for their research into magnetism and radiation. Also in 1902 Willem Einthoven invented the string galvanometer, with which he was able to make usable ECGs. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1924. No less a person than Albert Einstein became a professor at Leiden in 1920. He was one of the many foreign scholars who worked in or visited Leiden. The laboratory building was
The Coldest Place on Earth Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, July 24, 2022
2. The Coldest Place on Earth Marker - wide view
Behind the sign is the Kammerlingh Onnes building.
built between 1856 and 1859. These days it houses the Faculty of Law.

 
Erected by Stad Leiden. (Marker Number 10.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Science & Medicine. A significant historical date for this entry is April 8, 1911.
 
Location. 52° 9.364′ N, 4° 29.353′ E. Marker is in Leiden, Zuid-Holland (South Holland). Marker is at the intersection of Nieuwsteeg and Steenschuur, on the right when traveling north on Nieuwsteeg. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Leiden, Zuid-Holland 2311 GX, Netherlands. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. De Buskruitramp / The Gunpowder Disaster (a few steps from this marker); Heike Kamerlingh Onnes: Vloeibarr Helium / Liquid Helium (within shouting distance of this marker); Drukkerij en Kantoor Uitgeversmaatschappij A.W. Sijthoff (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Willebrord Snel van Royen (Snellius 1580-1626) (about 120 meters away); Philips van Leyden (about 150 meters away); Sint Pieters- of Van der Speckhofje / Van der Speck Almshouse (about 150 meters away); Lodewijkskerk / St. Louis Church (about 150 meters away); Jan Steen (about 180 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Leiden.
 
Also see . . .
1. The coldest place on Earth (Leiden University - Instituut Lorenz).
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Short article with a number of pictures ans illustrations… (Submitted on March 6, 2023.) 

2. Heike Kammerlingh Onnes (Wikipedia).
On his discovery of superconductivity: In 1911 Kamerlingh Onnes measured the electrical conductivity of pure metals (mercury, and later tin and lead) at very low temperatures. Some scientists, such as William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), believed that electrons flowing through a conductor would come to a complete halt or, in other words, metal resistivity would become infinitely large at absolute zero. Others, including Kamerlingh Onnes, felt that a conductor's electrical resistance would steadily decrease and drop to nil. Augustus Matthiessen said that when the temperature decreases, the metal conductivity usually improves or in other words, the electrical resistivity usually decreases with a decrease of temperature.

On 8 April 1911, Kamerlingh Onnes found that at 4.2 K the resistance in a solid mercury wire immersed in liquid helium suddenly vanished. He immediately realized the significance of the discovery (as became clear when his notebook was deciphered a century later). He reported that "Mercury has passed into a new state, which on account of its extraordinary electrical properties may be called the superconductive state". He published more articles about the phenomenon, initially referring to it as "supraconductivity" and, only later adopting the term "superconductivity".

Kamerlingh Onnes received widespread recognition for his work, including the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physics for (in the words of the committee) "his investigations on the properties of matter at low temperatures which led, inter alia, to the production of liquid helium".
(Submitted on March 6, 2023.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 6, 2023, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 50 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on March 6, 2023, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.

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Jun. 17, 2024