Frederick Lindemann related characteristic atomic oscillations to heat capacity and melting. His 1910 treatment estimated molecular eigenfrequencies and compared them with frequencies inferred from thermal and optical observations. The associated Lindemann melting criterion treats sufficiently large thermal atomic displacements relative to atomic spacing as a sign that a crystal becomes unstable. It is an approximate physical model: comparisons between independently inferred frequencies test the model, while a universal exact displacement threshold is not implied.[ref]
Über die Berechnung molekularer Eigenfrequenzen by Frederick Lindemann. 1910 original German paper, pp. 609–612, melting-point and eigenfrequency tables and heat-capacity comparison
Portrait of Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell
. Photographer unrecorded; U.S. National Archives / Harry S. Truman Library, NAID 199026; 5 January 1952; existing Commons crop by Kimsaka. Public domain in the United States as a U.S. federal-government work; Commons also applies Public Domain Mark 1.0. Source. Articles by others on the same topic
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Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell (1886–1957), was a British physicist and public servant, best known for his work during World War II as an advisor to Winston Churchill. He played a significant role in scientific developments related to the war, particularly in the areas of radar and the development of the atomic bomb. Lindemann was originally educated at the University of Oxford, where he distinguished himself in physics.