Letter from Linus Pauling to E.J. Ambrose. May 7, 1951. Page 1  Larger Images / More Information. 2 pp.  View Transcript

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Activity Listings

• Check from AHP to Ray K. Nakamura for $141.84. [Filed under LP Biographical: (Business and Financial: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, September 1950-December 1952), Box #4.021, Folder #21.2]
• Check from LP to Beatrice J. Wulf for $100.00. [Filed under LP Biographical: (Business and Financial: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, September 1950-December 1952), Box #4.021, Folder #21.2]
• Letter from Hans H. Jaffe, V. D. Experimental Laboratory, Public Health Service, Federal Security Agency, to LP RE: States that they are investigating the stability of various organometallic compounds and want to calculate approximate bond energies for the carbon metal bonds. Asks if LP has arrived at any bond energies for the elements in groups II, III, IV, and subgroup A of groups IV to VII for use in their investigation. [Letter from LP to Jaffe, May 7, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (J: Correspondence, 1951), #192.17]
• Letter from LP to A. A. Biddle, the Trustees of the American Alumni Fund, RE: Encloses a contribution for the Balliol American Alumni Fund. States that he considers the year he spent at Oxford to be one of the happiest and most interesting years of his life and that his associatation with Balliol was an important part of this experience. [Letter from the Trustees of the American Alumni Fund to LP, April 7, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (B: Correspondence, 1951), #37.18]
• Letter from LP to Arne Tiselius, University of Uppsala, RE: States that he will not be going to Sweden this summer, and that the work on polypeptide structures has been coming along very well. Asks if there is any chance that he may be able to come west in September. [Letter from Tiselius to LP, May 25, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Tiselius, Arne), #407.5]
• Letter from LP to Dr. John L.T. Waugh, Department of Chemistry at the University of Hawaii, RE: Discusses his plans for his visit to Honolulu. Thanks Waugh for his offer to drive LP and AHP around. Tells Waugh that him and Professor Corey are publishing a number of papers on the structure of proteins. [Letter from Waugh to LP, April 12, 1951] [Filed under LP Biographical: Political Issues: (Correspondence re: University of Hawaii, 1950-1954.), Box #2.005, Folder #5.2]
• Letter from LP to E. J. Ambrose, Research Laboratory, Courtaulds Ltd. [Letter from Ambrose to LP, July 3, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (A: Correspondence, 1951) Box #12.17]

  May 7, 1951

  Dr. E. J. Ambrose

  Research Laboratory

  Courtsulds Ltd.

  Maidenhead, England

  Dear Dr. Ambrose:

  Professor Corey and I have been very much interested in your work on synthetic polypeptides and fibrous proteins, and we are publishing several papers in which the work is discussed, in relation to the configurations for polypeptide chains that we have formulated. Our configurations all conform rigorously to the structural requirements that we have found to be satisfied in staple substances. We note that you have expressed doubt as to the importance of some structural features, such as the planarity of the amide group. We think that the amount of evidence is so great that there can be no question about the instability of configurations involving significant deviation from planarity of this group, and that progress in the protein field will be made through the search for structures in which the amide groups are all planar.

  Two of our polypeptide configurations are described in a paper in the April issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and others in seven papers that are to appear in the May issue. We have felt especially pleased that the structures that we assign to synthetic polypeptides, β-keratin, α-keratin, and collagen involve orientations of the N-H group and the C=O group that correspond closely with those that you have found through your infra-red investigations.

  I am writing now to ask if you have observed any dichroism in feather rachis keratin in the plane normal to the fiber axis. We have assigned a structure to feather rachis keratin that consists of β sheets alternating with doubles rows of α helixes. If we assign axes a, b, and c such that c is the fiber axis direction (the direction of polypeptide chains in the β sheets and of the axes of the α helixes), and the a-c plane is the plane of the β sheets, then we would predict that the hydrogen bonds of the α helixes are nearly parallel to the c axis

  Dr. Ambrose

  and those of the β sheets are nearly parallel to the a axis. Our structure requires that there be 3-7 hydrogen bonds in the c direction for every two hydrogen bonds in the a direction, with essentially no component along the b axis. I assume that your measurements relate to dichroism in the a-c plane. Do you have any data about dichroism involving the b axis?

  Sincerely yours,

  Linus Pauling:W

  cc: Professor Corey

• Letter from LP to George E. Farrand RE: Encloses the citation of the award of the Medal for Merit from 1948 and asks him to come to the lab for a talk later in the month. [Letters from Farrand to LP, April 18, 1951and May 8, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Farrand, George, 1949-1954), #117.6]
• Letter from LP to Jack B. McElhiney RE: Thanks him for his letter and says that the world is a sad place in which irresponsible political action takes place. Mentions his upcoming trip to Hawaii. [Letter from McElhiney to LP, April 11, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (M: Correspondence, 1951), #256.2]
• Letter from LP to L. E. R. Picken, Department of Chemistry, The University, Geneva, RE: Informs him that Corey and he have found the structure of myosin and that their findings will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. LP discusses the structure and asks for his original photographs for further analysis. Mentions that they have also determined the structure of other proteins. [Letter from Picken to LP, May 18, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (P: Correspondence, 1951), #312.16]
• Letter from LP to M. H. L. Pryce, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, RE: Discusses his paper with Abragam on the theory of the nuclear hyperfine structure of paramagnetic resonance spectra in the copper Tutton salts. [Letter from Pryce to LP, June 1, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (P: Correspondence, 1951), #312.16]
• Letter from LP to Sigma Xi RE: Regretfully states that he will not be able to attend the installation of the Texas A & M chapter of Sigma Xi. The invitation is attached. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Sigma Xi), #375.2]
• Letter from LP to William N. Lipscomb, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, RE: Discusses Lipscomb’s work on hydrogen fluoride and includes some references. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Lipscomb, William N.), #217.6]
• Letter from Per Olov-Löwdin, Institutionen för MeKanik och Matematisk Fysik, Uppsala Universitet, to LP RE: States that he is a young theoretical physicist with an interest in quantum chemistry. Inquires if he would be able to visit LP and his department at the end of August 1951 or stay with LP’s research group for a period of 1-2 months during the fall of 1951. Expresses his admiration for LP. Discusses his academic background and research. Requests that LP send him some papers. [Letter from LP to Löwdin, May 29, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Löwdin, Per-Olov), #218.4]
• Letter from Robert Morse Lovett, Honorary Chairman, National Council of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions, to LP RE: Calls LP’s attention to the case of Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, a distinguished scholar who has struggled for equal rights, and his associates. States that Dr. DuBois is being charged with failure to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Asks LP to sign the enclosed document, “Statement to the American People,” which he is circulating among a group of writers, scientists, and other professionals in the cultural field. [Filed under LP Peace: (Correspondence, Newsletters: National Council of the Arts, Sciences and Professions) Box #4.013 Folder #13.4]
• Letter from W. H. Freeman, W. H. Freeman & Co., to Axel R. Olson, University of California, Berkeley, cc: LP, RE: Discusses the final OOK revision. Makes suggestions on how Olson’s book might be changed to be more engaging and effective as a chemistry text book for college juniors and seniors. [Filed under LP Books: 1947b6.2]
• Referee Comments by LP RE: Provides his comments on the manuscript entitled, “The Relation of Electronic Density to Chemical Combination,” by Sanderson. [Letter from Noyes to LP, May 1, 1951] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Journal of the American Chemical Society), #191.1]
• Technical Report: “Faraday Society Symposium on Hydrocarbons,” Office of Naval Research, London. [Filed under LP Books: 1960b6.3]