December 20, 1943
Dr. Roger J. Williams
Department of Chemistry
The University of Texas
Austin 12, Texas
Dear Roger:
I am not sure that I understand completely the problem mentioned in your letter of December 11, but I shall answer in the following way, with the hope that these answers are useful to you.
1. I think that it might be proper, in one sense, to say that there is an interface between an exposed glucose residue or molecule and the aqueous medium. This interface would be effective so far as adsorption is concerned.
2. The question as to whether the interface between the aqueous medium and the particle of starch with glucose attached is really an interface between medium and glucose or between medium and starch is a matter of words.
3. I do not believe that the interface could be detected by radiation, because its dimensions are not great enough in comparison with the wave length of light.
4. Adsorption phenomena would be affected by the glucose.
With best regards, I am
Sincerely yours,
Linus Pauling
LP:jr
December
20, 1943
