n :  a statement in physical chemistry: the effect of a change in temperature on a system in equilibrium is to shift the equilibrium in the direction that acts to nullify the temperature change <according to van't Hoff's law, an increase in temperature will cause an increase in the rate of an endothermic reaction> 
 
Van't Hoff, Jacobus Henricus (1852-1911), Dutch physical chemist. Van't Hoff is considered the father of physical chemistry. As a professor of chemistry he taught first at the University of Amsterdam and later at the Prussian Academy of Science at Berlin. In 1886 he demonstrated a similarity between the behavior of dilute solutions and gases. He also introduced the modern concept of chemical affinity. Van't Hoff was awarded the first Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1901 for his work on rates of reaction, chemical equilibrium, and osmotic pressure.
 
 
 
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