What is Johannes Diderik van der Waals?
{{Infobox scientist | name = Johannes van der Waals | image = Johannes Diderik van der Waals.jpg | image_size = 230px | birth_date = {{Birth date|1837|11|23|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Leiden]], Netherlands | death_date = {{Death date and age|1923|3|8|1837|11|23|df=y}} | death_place = [[Amsterdam]], Netherlands | field = [[Theoretical physics]], [[thermodynamics]] | workplaces = [[University of Amsterdam]] | alma_mater = [[University of Leiden]] | doctoral_advisor = [[Pieter Rijke]] | doctoral_students = [[Diederik Korteweg]]<br />[[Willem Hendrik Keesom]] | influences = [[Rudolf Clausius]]<br />[[Ludwig Boltzmann]]<br />[[Josiah Willard Gibbs]]<br />[[Thomas Andrews (scientist)|Thomas Andrews]] | influenced = [[Heike Kamerlingh Onnes]]<br />[[Willem Hendrik Keesom]]<br />[[Peter Debye]]<br />[[Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski]]<br />[[James Dewar]]<br />[[Fritz London]]<br />[[John Shipley Rowlinson]]<br />Modern [[molecular science]] (including [[molecular physics]] and [[molecular dynamics]])<br />[[Cryogenics]] | known_for = Laying the foundations for modern [[molecular physics]] (molecular theory)<br />Originating modern theory of [[intermolecular forces]]<br />[[Law of corresponding states]]<br />[[Real gas law]]<br />[[Van der Waals forces]]<br />[[Van der Waals equation of state]]<br />[[Van der Waals radius]]<br />[[Van der Waals surface]]<br />[[Van der Waals molecule]] | prizes = [[Nobel Prize for Physics]] (1910) }} '''Johannes Diderik van der Waals''' ({{IPA-nl|joːˈɦɑnəz ˈdidərɪk fɑn dər ˈʋaːls|nl|Johannes Diderik van der Waals name.flac}}{{NoteTag|Every word in isolation: {{IPA-nl|joːˈɦɑnəs ˈdidərɪk vɑn dər ˈʋaːls}}}}; 23 November 1837 – 8 March 1923) was a Dutch [[theoretical physics|theoretical physicist]] and [[thermodynamicist]]. He became famous for his pioneering work on the [[equation of state]] for gases and liquids. Van der Waals started his career as a school teacher. In 1877, he