October 2020 Auction Ends Thursday, October 29th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/29/2020
Amazing autograph letter signed by Johannes Stark from 10 December 1913, the same year he discovered the Stark Effect for which he won the Nobel Prize in Physics. Contributing greatly to the field of quantum mechanics, the Stark Effect is the phenomenon of spectral lines of atoms splitting in the presence of an electric field. This letter, in fact, discusses Stark's ''odd'' observations regarding the Stark Effect on elements other than hydrogen and helium, and also features a drawing by Stark on the Stark Effect as it applies to hydrogen.
Composed in German, Stark writes to fellow Nobel Prize winning physicist Wilhelm Wien on letterhead from the Institute of Physics of the Royal Technical College in Aachen, Germany. Letter translates in part, ''...I already collected a number of observations concerning the spectral lines of elements other than H and He, and for band lines as well. Partly they are odd, but before I share anything about this, I would like to increase the observed material in order to replace the oddities with regularities. / Meanwhile, thanks to an elegant method, I was able to conclude the investigation of the longitudinal effects for H and He. As was to be expected, the congruents in the longitudinal effect are unpolarized and have the same spectral position as the congruents oscillating normally to the field in the transverse effect. The adjacent drawing [included] gives an overview of these conditions at Hy [Balmer Gamma]...Your very devoted / J. Stark''. Three page letter on bifolium stationery measures 5.5'' x 8.625'' as folded. Light creasing and single fold, overall in very good to near fine condition.
Johannes Stark Autograph Letter Signed in 1913, the Year He Discovered the Stark Effect, for Which He Won the Nobel Prize -- Letter Actually Discusses ''Odd'' Observations Regarding the Stark Effect
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