Heike Kamerlingh Onnes

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
	Kamerlingh Onnes in 1913
Born	21 September 1853; Groningen, Netherlands
Died	21 February 1926 (aged 72); Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands
Alma mater	University of Groningen (BSc, MSc, PhD)
Known for	First liquefaction of helium; Discovery of superconductivity;
Spouse	Maria Bijleveld (m. 1887)
Children	1
Relatives	Floris Verster (brother-in-law); Harm Kamerlingh Onnes (nephew);
Awards	Matteucci Medal (1910); Rumford Medal (1912); Nobel Prize in Physics (1913); Franklin Medal (1915);
	Scientific career
Fields	Low-temperature physics
Institutions	Delft Polytechnic (1878–1882); Leiden University (1882–1923);
Thesis	Nieuwe bewijzen voor de aswenteling der aarde (1879)
Doctoral students	Johannes Kuenen (1892); Pieter Zeeman (1893); Jacob Clay (1908); Wander de Haas (1912); Frans Penning (1923);

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (Dutch: [ˈɦɛikə ˈkaːmərlɪŋ ˈɔnəs]; 21 September 1853 – 21 February 1926) was a Dutch experimental physicist who became the first to liquefy helium, cooling it to near 1.5 kelvin (K). For this work, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913.

In 1911, using liquid helium to investigate the electrical conductivity of solid mercury, Kamerlingh Onnes found that its electrical resistance vanishes at 4.2 K, i.e. superconductivity.