POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF BROOKLYN

9 9 LIVINGSTON STREET

BROOKLYN 2, NEW YORK

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

February 3, 1953

Professor Linus Pauling

Gates and Crellin Laboratories

California Inst. of Technology

Pasadena 4, California

Dear Professor Pauling,

Thank you for your letter of January 29 concerning the form factor for the 7-strand cable. Under separate cover I am sending you and Professor Corey reprints of the work of Dr. D. P. Riley and myself which are relevent to this problem.

I do not feel that the equatorial spacings will be markedly altered whether one assumes 7 parallel rods or whether one assumes 6 rods twisted with mild pitch about a central rod.

The difference in your form factor for the equatorial spacings for your seven strand cable and that for the 7 parallel rods case Riley and I have used, comes about in the averaging process. We assumed that the 7 rod case can rotate.

In the end, experiments will, of course, prove which model is correct. It is for that reason that I am planning to do some low angle scattering to obtain equatorial spacings for wool in the α state. A student of mine is in the process of isolating the spindles of the cortex of wool since we would like a "pure" wool diagram un-obscured by the scales and cementing material of the wool fibers.

Incidentally, another student of mine has crystallized insulin which has been iodinated to the extent of 15% by weight in iodine. This material should be of interest since the scattering by the iodine exceeds that of the whole protein itself.

As you will see from our nucleic acid work, we considered a helical model, however, parameters can so be chosen as to fit any date. Hence, we were satisfied to choose the rod model which, at least, can be discussed more uniquely in terms of our data. Riley and I found, experimentally, a spacing of 16Ǻ for the unhydrated nucleic acid molecule but the value is based on an extrapolation of our observed data and hence may be in error.

Professor Pauling -2- February 3, 1953

I am not at the present time working with the X-ray diffraction of nucleic acid. Curiously enough, my main interest these days is in the photochemistry of dyes in solution in an optimistic attempt to explain certain biological phenomena such as vision. My work may never help to explain these phenomena but the photochemical properties of dyes in solution are themselves fascinating.

Sincerely yours,

Gerald Oster

GO:mf

3 February, 1953

Dear Mamma and Daddy,

I received two very nice letters from you separately. I apologize, Mamma for the crack about Trevelyan; I can remember writing it and thinking this is rather poor to say.

I had, as you know, decided not to go to Greece, for a number of reasons; cost, too short a time for visit, too long a time for work here, too cold now. However, i had talked to Joy Jonekheere ne Pickard about it and on the evening of the 16^th she rang me and said I should ring you and go. I would never get another chance, etc. etc. So, I got a reservation on a plane for the 18^th, paying first class fare as a student travelling between school and his parents. My tutor, Mr Pringle, signed the request for this concession*. The plane was delayed until 7 a.m. (22hr delay) on the 19^th, and I arrived in Athens about 5:30 p.m. on the 19^th. I was rather upset when you were not in the hotel, and I thought your plane had been delayed by bad weather, so I checked daily with all airlines. Rather stupid of me as it took three days to dawn on me that you would never come. It did not occur to me that you were still in the U.S. I thought you were probably in Spain or Italy. It was warm in Italy (at least that week) and cold in Greece. I was a little numbed by this change of fortune and for the first week did nothing except wander in the streets, and visit the open antiquities. I settled into a pleasant and reasonable pension, and after the first week awakened to the situation and got to work. I read a good deal during that time. Anyway, then I started several trips, actually three. Going first to Delphi for a day, and then to the Peloponissas for about four, visiting Corinth, Argos, Mycenae, Nafplion, Epidauros. I then went to Crete on the boat and stayed three days, three nights I guess, but had to fly back to Athens. I stayed at Iraklion, and visited Kuossos, which is very close, and Pheistos, which is on the south side. I enjoyed Crete very much. I then came home. I received a letter Daddy wrote on the 14^th on the 28^th which was very funny. He said you trusted I was not on my way to Greece because you would not be there. The sort of humor that went with the situation.

Except for being lonely, it was a wonderful trip. I learned a great deal and like Greece very much. It was rather cold and rainy, the sun shone about one third of the time. I had to buy some Greek boots and socks for my feet. Fortunately, I had taken some money and was quite comfortable. In general heated hotels and my heated Athenian pension.

Christmas was spent in this pension and on the Acropolis. Lonely.

I am very sorry I did not write you. The mail delivery to me was slow, and I just did not know where you were until after my return and a letter came on the 18^th saying where you would be in the future.

Linie should think I went to Greece. I wrote them an air letter from Athens.

My copy of the CIT P. Chem text, an orange book, was left in the library. Would you please send it? I shall treat your letter fully in a letter subsequent to this. Do you pay essentially 0.5 (list price) for technical and text books on an income tax consideration? American books are terribly expensive and even more so here. I think we can keep Linda in line. She can go three months or so around with me,- I hope to spend a month or six weeks in Naples and probably must go to the xtallography conference at the end of July. Then in the fall she can come to Cambridge, go to lectures, meet interesting people. Town is full of just such people. Jim Watson's sister was here for a while. She is my age.

Much love,

Peter