December 27, 1950 - Linus Pauling Day-by-Day

Bill from the Apothecary Shop of the Thatcher Medical Building to Linda Pauling for $22.62. [Filed under LP Biographical: Business and Financial: (Assorted Bills, Receipts and Invoices, 1951-1962.), Box #4.060, Folder #60.1]

Check from AHP to Manor Market for $10.00. [Filed under LP Biographical: Business and Financial: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, September 1950 - December 1952), Box #4.021, Folder #21.2]

Counter Check from LP to LP [a counter withdraw?] for $150.00. [Filed under LP Biographical: (Business and Financial: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, September 1950 - December 1952), Box #4.021, Folder #21.2]

Invoice from the Robert Dawson Agency to LP, RE: Informs him that the coverage from the 1938 Lincoln Zephyr was transferred to the 1950 MG Roadster and that he has a $2.30 premium due. Handwritten note: “Congratulations! Thank you! Paid 1/31/51 Robert L. Dawson.” [Filed under LP Personal Safe, Drawer #2, Folder #2.034]

Letter from A. W. Littlefield, President, Littlefield, Adams & Company, to LP RE: Thanks him for a copy of the book, Chemistry, Elementary, by Professor W. Bernard King. Offers a few suggestions. [Letters from Littlefield to LP, No Date and January 8, 1951 and Letter from King to LP, January 5, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (L: Correspondence, 1951), #230.17]

Letter from Dean L. H. Reyerson, School of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, to LP RE: Inquires if LP will be able to speak before the Minnesota section of the ACS on his upcoming trip to the East Coast. Suggest s that LP visit on April 19 or 26. [Letter from Lipscomb to LP, December 21, 1950 and Letter from LP to Lipscomb, December 28, 1950] [Filed under LP Speeches: 1951s.5]

Letter from LP to Dr. F. H. Kratzer, California at Davis Chapter, Society of the Sigma Xi, RE: Suggests two titles for his talk: “The Structure of Antibodies and the Nature of Serological Reactions” or “Valence of Metals and the Structure of Intermetallic Compounds.” States that he spoke before the Sacramento section on one of the topics. Suggests that Dr. Kratzer choose the other topic for the lecture scheduled on January 11, 1951. [Letter from Kratzer to LP, December 19, 1951] [Filed under LP Speeches: 1951s.2]

Letter from LP to Dr. Holland Roberts, American Russian Institute, RE: On behalf of his wife and himself, thanks LP for sending gifts to them. Includes a translation of an article concerning the theory of resonance. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Roberts, Holland), #330.5]

Letter from LP to Edwin G. Boring, Psychological Laboratories, Harvard University, RE: Says that he does not think his statement of November 14, 1950 has achieved widespread circulation. States that it has been given to a number of people but has not been printed in full. [Letter from Boring to LP, December 18, 1950] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (B: Correspondence, 1950), #37.17]

Letter from LP to Niels Bjerrum. [Letters from Bjerrum to LP, October 25, 1950 and January 19, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (B: Correspondence, 1951), #37.18]

December 27, 1950

Prof. Niels Bjerrum

Bjerregaardsvej 1

København Valby

Denmark

Dear Professor Bjerrum:

I am very pleased to have your letter of October 25, in which you discuss again the number of configurations of an ice crystal.

I have thought about the question some more, and I must say -that I believe that your new calculation contains an error, as did your old one. I am sure that the correct result is given either by the two methods that I described in my paper in 1935, or by the method described in my letter of October 18 to you.

I believe that the error that you have made in your second paper occurs in the fourth paragraph. I think that you are not justified in assigning weights to the different configurations of an ice crystal before a water molecule has been added to it on the basis of the number of configurations of the ice crystal after that molecule has been added. It is true, as you point out, that after the water molecule has been added to the ice crystal there are six different ways of orienting that water molecule, corresponding to the six edges of the tetrahedron, and that four of these ways involve the bonding of this water molecule to the ice crystal by means of one proton of this water molecule and one of the remaining part of the ice crystal, and the other two ways involve bonding with use of two protons from the remaining part of the ice crystal, or of no proton. However, this does not mean that the remaining part of the ice crystal is to be considered as having probability 2/3 that it will present one and only one proton to the water molecule to be added. The reason that it does not mean this is that the water molecule that is added can assume either one of two configurations, in case that it uses only one of its protons in the attachment to the remaining part of the ice crystal. The fact that it can be oriented in two ways means that after this molecule is added to the crystal the number of configurations corresponding to this kind of attachment is doubled. Hence the fact that by your calculation

Professor Bjerrum

you find that the probability is 2/3 for attachment of this sort means that you are counting attachments of this kind twice, and attachments of the other kinds only once. As I pointed out in my earlier letter, it is in fact correct to assign the weight 1 to the configuration of the remaining part of the ice crystal in which it presents two protons, the weight 1 to each of the two configurations in which 1 and only 1 proton is presented, and the weight 1 to the configuration in which no proton is presented. Then, the configurations are doubled in number after another water molecule is added when the attachment is by means of a single proton from this water molecule only. This means that the number of configurations is increased by the factor 3/2 for every water molecule that is added, and accordingly that the entropy has the value given in my 1935 paper, and not the values given in your earlier letter and in your second letter.

I hope that you will write to me again in case that you do not agree with this argument.

My wife joins me in sending best wishes to you for the New Year.

Sincerely yours,

Linus Pauling:W

Letter from T. Johnson to Mr. Roger Hayward, cc: LP, RE: Encloses Figures 8-1 and 11-1 from College Chemistry. Says that they are planning to make a reprint in a few weeks and would like these figures, along with Figure 25-2, back as soon as possible. [Letter from Hayward to Johnson, January 6, 1951] [Filed under LP Personal Safe, Drawer #2, Folder #2.009]

Letter from Theoda Johnson, W. H. Freeman & Co., to LP, RE: Lists five corrections to College Chemistry sent by a reader. [Letter from LP to Johnson, December 29, 1950] [Filed under LP Books 1950b.2] [Also filed under LP Personal Safe, Drawer #2, Folder #2.009]

Letter from W. H. Freeman to LP RE: Explains the plan to reprint 5,000 copies of College Chemistry in the coming week. Requests LP’s corrections for the coming reprint. [Filed under LP Books 1950b.2]

Letter from W. H. Freeman to LP RE: Informs LP that one of the company’s stockholders wishes to dispose of 100 shares of capital stock and will accept the highest bid submitted by January 10. [Letter from LP to Kudlacik, January 5, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (W. H. Freeman and Company, 1950), #439.8]

Letter from Werner Nowacki, Universität Bern, to LP RE: Thanks LP for allowing him to send copies of the set of the L-punched cards to crystallographers who are interested in this method. Lists the individuals who he sent them to. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Nowacki, Werner.), #277.15]

Southern Commercial And Savings Bank: Advice of Various Charges for AHP. [Filed under LP Biographical: (Business and Financial: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, September 1950 - December 1952), Box #4.021, Folder #21.2]

Activity Listings