Letter from Linus Pauling to W. Bolton. September 16, 1965. Page 1  Larger Images / More Information. 2 pp.  View Transcript

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Activity Listings

• Letter from H. N. Vazifdar to LP RE: Vazifdar asks LP if he could send him the solutions to the examples for “General Chemistry” (Modern Asia Edition). [Filed under LP Correspondence: (V: Correspondence, 1933-1969) #427.23] 
• Letter from Helen P. Gilrane, Secretary to LP to Hans E. Bejach, Rudolf Virchow Medical Society RE: Encloses the corrected proof for LP’s paper “Molecular Disease and Evolution.” Asks for 150 reprints. [Filed under LP Manuscripts of Articles: (Manuscripts and Typescripts of Articles by LP, 1963), Box #1963a, Folder #1963a.18] 
• Letter from Helen P. Gilrane, Secretary to LP, to Professor W. L. Kretovich RE: Gilrane informs Kretovich that he will receive the manuscript by LP in one week to ten days. [Letter from LP to Kretovich June 26, 196363, Letter from Gilrane to Kretovich November 8, 1963]  [Filed under LP Manuscripts of Articles: (Manuscripts and Typescripts of Articles by LP, 1963), Box #1963a2, Folder #1963a2.6]
• Letter from John Raeburn Green, Green, Hennings, Henry, Evans & Arnold, Attorneys at Law, to Henry Bent, Dean, University of Missouri, cc. LP, RE: Requests a meeting with Bent on October 16. [Letter from Green to Bent, May 9, 1963. Letter from Green to Bent, September 19, 1963] [LP Biographical: Legal: Pauling v. Globe-Democrat Publishing Company, 1960-1967: Box #3.003, Folder #3.5] 
• Letter from LP [Signed by Helen Gilrane] to Lottie Goodson, Secretary, Biological Science Department, California States Polytechnic College, RE: Apologizes for not replying sooner and also for being unavailable to present a seminar. [Letter from Goodson to LP August 6, 1963] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (C: Correspondence), #77.1]  
• Letter from LP [Signed by Helen Gilrane] to Thomas A. Steyaert, President, Bay Area Biologists Society, RE: Thanks Steyaert for requesting LP to present to the Bay Area Biologists Society. However, due to a heavy schedule it isn’t possible for him to accept the invitation. [Letter from Steyaert to LP September 11, 1963] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (D: Correspondence), #99.4] 
• Letter from LP to Arthur C. Cope RE: LP once again requests that Chemical and Engineering News publish an expression of regret so that the readers of the journal will know to believe LP’s factual letter and not the erroneous article published by the journal. [Letter from Cope to LP September 10, 1963] [Filed under LP Science: American Chemical Society: Correspondence, 1950-1964: Box #14.006, Folder #6.5]
• Letter from LP to Bertrand Russell, RE: LP formally signs the appeal to Mr. Khrushchev on behalf of Soviet Jews, which Russell sent to him on 9 September 1963. [Filed under: LP Safe Contents, Drawer 2, Folder 2.002]
• Letter from LP to D. Drummond Hart, Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, RE: Explains that he has no information about the reticular activating system that Hart mentioned.  Explains that he continues to work on and find evidence for the molecular theory of anesthesia.  [Letter from Hart to LP September 4, 1963] [Filed under LP Correspondence:(H: Correspondence, 1963), #169.1]
• Letter from LP to Dr. T.R. Sato and Dr. J.F. Catchpool RE: LP suggests that Catchpool devote part of time in the coming months to working with Dr. Sato on the formation and study of hydrate crystals of anesthetic agents.  [Filed under LP Correspondence: S: Individual Correspondence (Samson-Schmitt): Box #357 Folder #357.5]
• Letter from LP to Dr. W. Bolton, Department of Physical Chemistry, The University Newcastle. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (B: Correspondence), #40.2]

  16 September 1963

  Dr. W. Bolton

  Department of Physical Chemistry

  The University

  Newcastle upon Tyne 1

  England

  Dear Dr. Bolton:

  I am pleased to have received your letter of 9 September.

  I shall look forward to receiving reprints of papers describing your interesting structure determinations.

  It seems to me that there is little doubt that there is a strong attraction between the carbonyl oxygen atoms and ring carbon atoms, which are also carbonyl carbons.

  You may have seen discussion of the carbon-oxygen double bond in the third edition of my book The Nature of the Chemical Bond (I do not have a copy available, and am writing from memory). I think that I pointed out that there is a charge of about plus 0.44 on the carbon atom, corresponding to partial ionic character of the two bent bonds that are involved in the attachment of the oxygen atom. The orbitals on the carbon atom involved in these bent bonds extend above and below the plane of the ring in your compound. These orbitals, to the extent that they are freed by the partial ionic character of the bonds, might be used in covalent bonds using the unshared electrons of other oxygen atoms. Moreover, the negative charge of the oxygen atom is at its maximum in the center of the ridge opposite the bisector of the tow covalent bonds that it normally forms.

  It may be that carbon-oxygen attraction for which you have evidence should be described just as attraction of the positive charge of the carbon atom for the negative charge along this ridge of the oxygen atom. If we use the relation that I formulated many years ago between distance and bond number, the length 2.77 Ǻ is found to correspond to bond number 0.01, which is so small as to be negligible.

  I have suggested that van der Waals radius is usually about 0.8 Ǻ greater than the single-bond covalent radius, so that, as you point out, the van der Waals contact between carbon and oxygen might be expected to be about 3.0 Ǻ. However, if electrons are taken away from the carbon atom by the partial ionic character, the van der Waals radius of carbon would be less, and this might account for the contact distances that you have reported.

  All in all, it seems to me pretty clear that there is a special attraction between the carbon atom and the adjacent oxygen atoms above and below the ring, and that it is to be attributed to the positive charge on carbon and negative charge on oxygen.

  Sincerely yours,

  Linus Pauling:hpg

• Letter from LP to Felix Greene RE: Says that Green has effectively presented the facts about nuclear war in his photographic book, Let There Be a World. [Letter from Greene to LP August 26, 1963] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (G: Correspondence), #142.2]
• Letter from LP to Frederick S. Johnston, Jr., RE: Says he has not found anything in Johnston’s book on which he cares to comment.  Returns the book to Johnston. [Letter from Johnston to LP August 8, 1963] [Filed under LP Correspondence:(J: Correspondence), #192.29]
• Letter from LP to James Shelton RE: LP is not able to accept the invitation to speak at Porterville State Hospital on October 24th.  LP will be in Washington, DC and New York giving an address with the Centennial Celebration of the National Academy of Sciences. [Letter from Shelton to LP September 13, 1963] [Filed under LP Correspondence: P: Correspondence, 1960-1963: Box #314 Folder #314.4]
• Letter from LP to Marianne E. Smith RE: Thanks her for the clipping from the Corning Leader. Informs that the definition of picocurie is incorrectly given in the article. [Letter from Smith to LP September 30, 1963][Filed under LP Correspondence: (N: Correspondence, 1963), #288.7]
• Letter from LP to Michael Levi Matar, Counsellor at Law, RE: Discusses potential dates for LP to give his deposition in the LP v. National Review trial. [Letter from Matar to LP, September 10, 1963, Letter from Matar to LP, September 18, 1963] [LP Biographical: Legal: Pauling v. National Review, Buckley, et al., 1961-1969: Box #3.016, Folder #16.1]
• Letter from LP to Tom Johnson RE: LP regrets that his schedule will not permit him to participate in the Purdue Conference on International Affairs in February 1964. [Letter from Johnson to LP September 10, 1963] [Filed under LP Correspondence: P: Correspondence, 1960-1963: Box #314 Folder #314.4]
• Memo from LP [Signed by Helen Gilrane] to Dr. T. R. Sato and Dr. J.F. Catchpool, RE: Says that LP has asked Catchpool to devote time to working with Sato and Jones on the formation and study of hydrate crystals of anesthetic agents, in order that this work may be accelerated. Asks that both Sato and Catchpool talk with LP about the research program. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (John Francis Catchpool), #62.5]  
• Note from Kay Brewer to LP RE: Discusses the issue of the Test Ban. She agrees with LP’s standpoint. She fears that many people feel that if they are exposed to radiation, they will survive nuclear warfare. The driving force in this misconception is the lack of knowledge that people posses on radiation and nuclear warfare. She asks LP what she can do or what can be done in general to educate people about radiation and nuclear warfare. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (B: Correspondence), #40.2]  
• Note from William Parke to LP RE: Informs that Dr. Jehle has made a few revisions on the manuscript for his paper to be published in the Proceedings of the NAS.  Requests LP’s approval of the revisions.  [Filed under LP Correspondence:(Jehle, Herbert), #189.3]