26674

Scientifically Important Archive of Letters Scientifically Important Archive of Early Letters of Ei

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Scientifically Important Archive of Letters  Scientifically Important Archive of Early Letters of Ei
<B> Scientifically Important Archive of Early Letters of Einstein, Urey, Born, Wigner, Kemble, Langmuir, Birge, Millikan, others. Superb collection of 51 TLsS and ALsS, mostly with scientific content, each to physicist Enos E. Witmer.</B></I> Includes: <B> ALBERT EINSTEIN</B></I> TLS: <I>"A. Einstein",</B></I> 1p, 5.25" x 6.5". Princeton, N.J., September 13, 1946. In full: <I>"Overburdened with work I should prefer if you would be could (sic, good) enough to present your questions in writing." </B></I> With envelope sent special delivery.; <B> HAROLD C. UREY</B></I> Five letters of the winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of heavy hydrogen. Comprises: ALS: <I>"Harold C. Urey",</B></I> 1p, 8.5" x 11". [Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore], May 20, 1926. In part: <I>"After trying many combinations on the Fulcher bands without success, I tried a few along your ideas which seem to show conclusively that your interpretations of the green bands is quite correct. Probably you have these already but thought I would mention them anyway."</B></I> At this point, Urey lists Green bands, red bands, New Infra red bands, Blue Dicke bands and New bands, each with a line of mathematical calculations concluding: <I>"I tried only a few lines of last but they seem to check up. I believe with these combinations that your interpretation is quite certain."</B></I>; With carbon of Witmer's April 5, 1926 letter to Urey. Three TLsS: <I>"Harold C. Urey",</B></I> In part: (1) 2p, 8.5" x 11", February 20, 1926. <I>"I have assumed that the theory of the H+2 (See enclosed reprint. Also paper in Phys. Rev. for February) is approximately correct and that the Fulcher green bands are the H+2 bands for the transition n* = 3 to n* = 2 (Your et = 3 to et = 2). Then I have assumed that the energy in the steady states is a function of the quantum numbers of the same form as that required by classical mechanics and quantum theory. From this I can calculate the steady states as functions of the quantum numbers and this formula is given in the last section of the paper. This formula predicts an ultraviolet band whose frequencies are v = 102991.7 - 4195 n4 + 140.5 n42 - 100.88 m2 + .236 m4 + 5.97 m2n4. This would be the electron transition n* = 2 to n* = 1. In this formula I would substitute n4 = 1/2, 3/2, 5/2 -----, and m = 3/2, 5/2, 7/2 -----. The normalization of quantum numbers might be different however...It seems to me at first thought that your interpretation of the heat of dissociation as 4.22 volts is not justified though my reasons may be faulty. The potential energy should be a function of the distance between the nuclei of the usual form namely [Urey has drawn here a potential energy curve] where Wo is the energy in the normal state. The nuclei could vibrate until the total energy is W max which in general will be greater than W diss., the energy of dissociation. It seems thst you assume that W max = W diss and I don't believe that this is necessarily true."</B></I> Urey adds in holograph: <I>"However you may have it worked out quite correctly and I may be in error."</B></I> The "enclosed reprint" mentioned by Urey is present: "A Possible Explanation of the Relativity Doublets and Anomalous Zeeman Effect by Means of a Magnetic Electron" by F.R. Bichowsky and H.C. Urey, Reprinted from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...February, 1926", 6p, 6.75" x 10", brown paper cover; (2) 1.5p, 8.5" x 11", March 30, 1926. In part, <I>"I am sorry that I did not get one of my points of my previous paper clearly stated and in fact I think that the potential energy curve was drawn incorrectly. I remembered a curve from Born and Franck's paer (sic, paper) in the Zeitschrift for last spring and plotted the wrong curve. I refer to the question of the dissociation of the molecule due to the vibrational energy. As an example take the Bohr model of the hydrogen molecule ion or the Pauli-Niessen model."</B></I> A carbon of Witmer's March 25, 1926 letter to Urey, acknowledging receipt of Urey's February 20th letter, is present; (3) 1p, 8" x 10.5", October 31, 1929. In part, <I>"I agree completely with your criticisms and am very much indebted to you for straightening out the difficulties in this section and also for greatly aiding me in getting a correct understanding of the subject."</B></I> <B> MAX BORN</B></I> Two TLsS and one ALS: <I>"M. Born",</B></I> each in German; not translated. Comprises: (1) 2p, 8.5" x 11". Gottingen, February 12, 1927. Born is excited that Witmer wants to come to his Instutute in Gottingen. He explains that he has a large group of American physicists there and he is not satisfied with their work. Born does compliment one American: <I><B>"However, I now have a fellow, Mr. [J. Robert] Oppenheimer, with whom I work with quite well and he thus far has done great work here.</B></I></B></I> <I> You must also ask yourself if you believe in this line of work. If you decide you do, I will go to alot of trouble to promote your studies."</B></I> (2) 1p, 8.5" x 11". Gottingen, April 20, 1927. Born thanks Witmer for an invitation. (3) ALS on message side of a 1929 Easter greeting postcard, 5.5" x 4", thanking Witmer for his good wishes while he was ill. <B>EDWIN C. KEMBLE</B></I> Four TLsS: <I>"Edwin C. Kemble",</B></I> 1925-1928. In part: (1) <I>"I am awfully glad that you have elected to come to Cambridge...There is a chance that Mullikan will be able to make arrangements to stay with us another year, and, if so, you will be the gainer"</B></I>; (2) <I>"Blackburn of Chicago is applying for permission to come to Cambridge...to study band spectra with me. As I already have you and Barton on my hands, and as Mullikan is to work with me on the Zeeman effect, I hesitate a little about adding Blackburn"</B></I>; (3) <I>"You might be interested in analyzing a set of very interesting bands presumably due to hydrogen which Prof. Lyman has found in the extreme ultraviolet in mixtures of H and He."</B></I>; (4)<I> "Zener and I have been working on the excited states of H2 and on the general perturbation theory of diatomic molecules. During the summer I gave a course on wave mechanics and band spectra at the University of Michigan. There was a fine crowd there, including Kramers, Uhlenbeck, Goudsmit, Oppenheimer, Mullikan and others, so that the atmosphere was very stimulating."</B></I><B> EUGENE P. WIGNER</B></I> Three TLsS: <I>"E. Wigner"</B></I> and <I>"E. P. Wigner"</B></I> and four ALsS: <I>"E. Wigner"</B></I> and <I>"Eugene Wigner".</B></I> (1) TLS, 1p, 8.5" x 11", November 20, 1934. In part, <I>"It would be very nice if you could come up with Dr. Bushkovitch on Saturday...."</B></I>; (2) ALS, 1.5p, 8.5" x 11", January 21, 1935. In part: <I>"It is so kind of you and Dr Bushkovitch to ask me for dinner and a show after my lecture. I look forward to the dinner and to see you, but, I am afraid, I have to give up the idea of going to a show, since I have a lecture the other morning."</B></I> (3) TLS, 1p, 8.5" x 11", October 20, 1947, In part: <I>"Thank you very much for your letter inviting me to give an address to your colloquium on December 3."</B></I> (4) TLS, 1p, 8.5" x 11", November 3, 1