John Lennard-Jones used gas-transport measurements to constrain models of intermolecular forces. His 1924 work connects the temperature dependence of viscosity with an assumed force law. The familiar modern Lennard-Jones potential represents short-range repulsion and longer-range attraction as . Its minimum at has depth , making the two parameters physically interpretable. This 12–6 form is a simplified interaction model, rather than an exact force law for every atom pair.[ref]
On the determination of molecular fields. I. From the variation of the viscosity of a gas with temperature by John Lennard-Jones. Proceedings of the Royal Society A 106, 441–462 (1924); potential written in its familiar modern form
Portrait of John Lennard-Jones
. Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge. CC BY 2.0. Source.
John Lennard-Jones refers to a British physicist and chemist, Sir John Lennard-Jones, who is renowned for his contributions to the field of theoretical chemistry and physics. One of his most notable achievements is the development of the Lennard-Jones potential, which is a mathematical model used to describe the interactions between a pair of neutral atoms or molecules.
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