Cato Maximilian Guldberg (11 August 1836 – 14 January 1902) was a Norwegian mathematician and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

. Guldberg is best known as a pioneer in physical chemistry.

Background

Guldberg was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the eldest son of Carl August Guldberg (1812–92) and Hanna Sophie Theresia Bull (1810–54). He was the brother of nurse and educator

Cathinka Guldberg Cathinka Augusta Guldberg (3 January 1840 – 22 October 1919) was a Norwegian nurse, educator and deaconess. She was associated with the development of nursing education in Norway. Biography Guldberg was born in the city of Christiania (now Os ...

as well as mathematician Axel Sophus Guldberg. He attended Aug. Holths private latinskole in Christiania. Guldberg studied mathematics and physics at the University of Christiania and took his diploma in 1859. That same year he received the Crown Prince's gold medal (''Kronprinsens gullmedalje'') for a dissertation in pure mathematics. He received a travel and education scholarship in 1861, studying applied mathematics and machine learning in (Germany), Switzerland and France.

Career

Guldberg first taught at Hartvig Nissens skole in Christiania. Gulberg worked at the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

becoming a college fellow in 1867 and received a professorship in applied mathematics in 1869. Together with his brother-in-law,

Peter Waage Peter Waage (29 June 1833 – 13 January 1900) was a Norwegian chemist and professor of chemistry at the University of Kristiania. Along with his brother-in-law Cato Maximilian Guldberg, he co-discovered and developed the law of mass action ...

, he proposed the

law of mass action In chemistry, the law of mass action is the proposition that the rate of the chemical reaction is directly proportional to the product of the activities or concentrations of the reactants. It explains and predicts behaviors of solutions in dy ...

. This law attracted little attention until, in 1877, Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff arrived at a similar relationship and experimentally demonstrated its validity. In 1890, he published what is now known as the Guldberg rule, which states that the normal

boiling point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid and the liquid changes into a vapor. The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding envir ...

of a liquid is two-thirds of the

critical temperature Critical or Critically may refer to: *Critical, or critical but stable, medical states **Critical, or intensive care medicine *Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences. *Critical Software, a company specializing in ...

when measured on the

absolute scale There is no single definition of an absolute scale. In statistics and measurement theory, it is simply a ratio scale in which the unit of measurement is fixed, and values are obtained by counting. According to another definition it is a system of ...

. From 1866 to 1868, 1869 to 1872 and 1874 to 1875 he was the chairman of the

Norwegian Polytechnic Society The Polytechnic Society ( no, Polyteknisk Forening) is a Norwegian member network that inspires a science-based and sustainable development, through technology and interdisciplinary partnerships. It was founded in 1852 in Christiania (now: Oslo). Th ...

Honours

Sweden-Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden ...

: ** Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

, ''1866'' ** Knight of the Polar Star, ''1882'' ** Knight of St. Olav, ''1891''; Commander 2nd Class, ''21 January 1896'' ** Knight of the

Order of Charles XIII The Royal Order of Charles XIII ( sv, Kungliga Carl XIII:s orden) is a Swedish order of merit, founded by King Charles XIII in 1811. Membership The Lord and Master of the Order is the King of Sweden, currently King Carl XVI Gustaf. Membership o ...

, ''28 January 1899'' * :

Knight of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

, ''30 August 1872''

References

Publications

* * - English translation of Waage and Guldberg's 1864 paper (above)

External links