Letter from Linus Pauling to Jack Inman. March 28, 1949. Page 1  Larger Images / More Information. 1 p.  View Transcript

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Activity Listings

• Agenda for the meeting of the Council of the American Chemical Society. [Filed under LP Science: American Chemical Society: Materials re: Committees and Awards, 1944-1949: Box #14.009 Folder #9.1]
• Letter from J.L. Simonsen to LP RE: Tells LP how privileged he feels to be the first recipient of the Fritzsche award. [Letter from LP to Simonsen April 6, 1949] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (S: Correspondence, 1949) 378.3]
• Letter from LP (signed in his absence) to William M. Saltman RE: Replies that all of the postdoctoral fellowships they had available have been filled for the next year. Explains what he thinks are some difficulties with Saltman's methods for determining the configuration of optical isomers. [Letter from Saltman to LP March 17, 1949] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (S: Correspondence, 1949), #378.3]
• Letter from LP [signed in his absence] to Dr. Earl Evans, Department of Biochemistry, University of Chicago, RE: Suggests Dr. L.H. Farinholt as a candidate for the position in a Foreign Service office. Adds he was a Rhodes scholar and is a “very good all round chemist.” Mentions Farinholt wishes an appointment with the National Science Foundation later on. [Letter from Evans to LP March 31, 1949] [Filed under LP Correspondence: Box #112.15, file:(E: Correspondence, 1949)]
• Letter from LP [signed in his absence] to Dr. John A. Kingsbury, RE: States that he left the conference after lunch on March 15 and the discussion hadn't progressed far enough for him to formulate a statement. [Letter from Kingsbury to LP March 17, 1949] [Filed under LP Correspondence: Box #200.14, file:(K: Correspondence, 1949)]
• Letter from LP to Dr. A. M. Ahmed RE: assures Ahmed that he may postpone his visit to Caltech until summer, that Caltech does not have summer school and there are very few seminars and no lectures held during the summer. He informs that many staff members and research men will continue their work through the summer and that it might be interesting anyway. [Letter from Ahmed to LP March 7, 1949] [Filed under LP Biographical: Academia: Box 1.017, Folder 17.3]
• Letter from LP to Dr. C. N. H. Long, Dean, Yale University School of Medicine. RE: Informs him that he shall be able to attend the symposium on insulin. Will not present a formal report. [Filed under LP Science: American Chemical Society: Correspondence, 1948-1949: Box #14.004 Folder #4.2]
• Letter from LP to Dr. David Harker, General Electric Co.. RE: Believes he can come to the ASXRED meeting. Suggests that he be scheduled for the 23rd. Informs him of the topic and length of time required. [Filed under LP Science: American Chemical Society: Correspondence, 1948-1949: Box #14.004 Folder #4.2]
• Letter from LP to Dr. Vlassios Vlassopoulos RE: States he is glad to hear of Vlassopoulos' plans to work at Cal Tech in a year. [Notes from Dr. Vlassios Vlassopoulos to LP 3-49, July 13, 1949] [Filed under LP Correspondence: 427.9]
• Letter from LP to Dr. W. D. Leech, Pasadena City College. RE: Shall have slides for his lecture on April 7th. [Filed under LP Science: American Chemical Society: Correspondence, 1948-1949: Box #14.004 Folder #4.2]
• Letter from LP to Dr. William F. Filbert. RE: Thanks him for his letter. [Filed under LP Science: American Chemical Society: Correspondence, 1948-1949: Box #14.004 Folder #4.2]
• Letter from LP to J. P. Youtz. RE: Informs him that if the group meets in the summer, then the third Wednesday in July would be acceptable. [Filed under LP Science: American Chemical Society: Correspondence, 1948-1949: Box #14.004 Folder #4.2]
• Letter from LP to Kozo Sone, Nagoya, University Higashi-yama RE: Says that he has had a copy of “General Chemistry” sent, tells him not to worry about sending stamps in exchange, and states that the new edition of “The Nature of the Chemical Bond” varies little from the original edition. [Letter from Sone to LP March 16, 1949] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (S: Correspondence, 1948) 378.3]
• Letter from LP to Prof. F. O. Rice, Head, Chemistry Dept., Catholic University of America, RE: States he would like to give a seminar talk at their University and suggests some possible dates and times. [Letters from F. O. Rice to LP March 8, 1949, March 31, 1949] [Filed under LP Correspondence: #340.14]
• Letter from Sol Haberman, Secretary General Western Hemisphere, International Society of Hematology, to LP RE: Asks if LP is going to accept his membership in the International Society of Hematology and requests a prompt reply. Encloses a postcard in case LP decides to decline acceptance. [Letters from Haberman to LP December 14, 1948, from LP to Haberman April 26, 1949] [Filed under LP Correspondence: Box #185.10, file:(I: Correspondence, 1949)]
• Magazine Article: “Kolthoff Given Nichols Medal for Analytical Researches”, Chemical and Engineering News, Vol. 27, No. 13, March 28, 1949. [Filed under LP Scrapbooks, 1946-1950: Box #6.005, Folder 5.34]
• Memo from LP [signed in his absence] to Jack Inman. [Filed under LP Correspondence: Box #185.10, file:(I: Correspondence, 1949)]

  March 28, 1949

  Jack Inman

  Linus Pauling

  In my freshman text the statement is made that thiocyonic, cyanic acid, and hydrazoic acid are weak acids, with acid constants around 10^-4. A note recently appeared in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in which it was pointed out that thiocyanic acid is in fact a strong acid. I have received a letter from a young man in Brazil, Ricardo Carvalho Ferreira, in which he mentions that Lowry, INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Second Edition, Macmillan Co., page 552, and Curtman, QUALITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, Macmillan Co., page 383, say that cyanic acid and thiocyanic acid are both strong acids, as strong as hydrochloric acid. I wonder whether hydrazoic acid may also not be a strong acid.

  If you would be interested, perhaps you could check the literature a bit on hydrazoic acid, and perhaps you would like to run titration curves on potassium thiocyanate, potassium cyanate, and potassium azide. I have a sample of sodium azide, if you have any trouble in getting hold of material.

  Dictated by Linus Pauling

  Signed in his absence

  W

• Speech Announcement: “Chemistry in War and Peace”, The Commonwealth, Vol. XXV, No. 13, March 28, 1949. [Filed under LP Scrapbooks, 1946-1950: Box #6.005, Folder 5.34]
• Spitzer Case. Letter to the Editor. Chem. Eng. News 27, no. 13 (March 1949): 935. [Filed under: LP Publications, 1949p.19]