March 19, 1940

Dr. Eugene H. Eyster

Department of Physics

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Dear Eugene:

I am glad to extend to you the offer by the California Institute of appointment as George Ellery Hale Research Fellow in Radiation Chemistry for the year 1940-41, with stipend $2000 for the year. The appointment would be renewed for a second year if you desire, but you are not required to make the decision now as to whether or not you would want to continue as Fellow for a second year. You would have no duties and no obligations other than the prosecution of research.

You would, of course, be free to work in any field you desire, and we would try to provide whatever material support you need. I would like, however, to suggest a field of investigation which has appealed to me recently as a promising one, and which might also appeal to you. This is the application of the Rabi molecular beam technique to problems of molecular structure. You probably know that Rabi has determined the internuclear distance in the hydrogen molecule by his method, and I think that other internuclear distances could be determined similarly. He is now getting very accurate values of electric dipole moments of alkali halide gas molecules by measuring the frequency of radio waves necessary to cause transition from one stark effect level to another. Last month I looked at Rabi's apparatus and talked with him. He is willing and, I think, would be glad to have someone apply his techniques in the molecular structure field, since he himself plans to work only on fundamental problems of nuclear structure

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and to develop possible applications for the technique, but not to apply it in a systematic way. If you would be interested in supervising the construction of a Rabi apparatus it might be a good idea for you to spend some time with Rabi in New York. You would have collaboration here on the radio side if you wanted it, since Potapenko would be only too glad to put his radio wave to some good use.

Schomaker is staying on next year as Senior Fellow in Research, and Wilson is to be Instructor in Applied Chemistry. Stosick is taking Helmholz's place as Instructor in Freshman Chemistry with Helmholz going to Dartmouth.

We are hoping that you will decide to come back here for a while. Badger would be especially glad to have you here.

With best regards, I am

Sincerely yours,

Linus Pauling

LP:jr