Merle Randall (January 29, 1888 – March 17, 1950) was an American

physical chemist Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

famous for his work with Gilbert N. Lewis, over a period of 25 years, in measuring reaction heat of chemical compounds and determining their corresponding free energy. Together, their 1923 textbook ''"Thermodynamics and the Free Energy of Chemical Substances"'' became a classic work in the field of

chemical thermodynamics Chemical thermodynamics is the study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with physical changes of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics. Chemical thermodynamics involves not only laboratory measurem ...

. In 1932, Merle Randall authored two scientific papers with

Mikkel Frandsen Mikkel Frandsen (1892–1981) was a Danish American physical chemist noted for experiments involving chemical thermodynamics, oil, and heavy water. Also known as deuterium oxide (D2O), heavy water is used to produce nuclear power and is used in ...

: ''“The

Standard Electrode Potential In electrochemistry, standard electrode potential E^\ominus, or E^\ominus_, is a measure of the reducing power of any element or compound. The IUPAC "Gold Book" defines it as: ''"the value of the standard emf (electromotive force) of a cell in wh ...

of Iron and the

Activity Coefficient In thermodynamics, an activity coefficient is a factor used to account for deviation of a mixture of chemical substances from ideal behaviour. In an ideal mixture, the microscopic interactions between each pair of chemical species are the same ( ...

Ferrous Chloride Iron(II) chloride, also known as ferrous chloride, is the chemical compound of formula FeCl2. It is a paramagnetic solid with a high melting point. The compound is white, but typical samples are often off-white. FeCl2 crystallizes from water as ...

,”'' and ''“Determination of the Free Energy of Ferrous Hydroxide from Measurements of Electromotive Force.”''

Education

Randall completed his Ph.D. at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1912 with a dissertation on ''“Studies in Free Energy”''.Randall, Merle (1912). ''Studies in Free Energy''. Ph.D. Thesis/dissertation — Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Based on work by

J. Willard Gibbs Josiah Willard Gibbs (; February 11, 1839 – April 28, 1903) was an American scientist who made significant theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics. His work on the applications of thermodynamics was instrumental in t ...

, it was known that chemical reactions proceeded to an equilibrium determined by the free energy of the substances taking part. Using this theory, Gilbert Lewis spent 25 years determining free energies of various substances. In 1923, he and Randall published the results of this study and formalizing chemical thermodynamics. According to the Belgian thermodynamicist Ilya Prigogine, their influential 1923 textbook led to the replacement of the term “

affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Par ...

” by the term “ free energy” in much of the English-speaking world.

Education

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Further reading