August 2019 Auction Ends Thursday, August 29th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/29/2019
Lively autograph letter signed by Nobel winning quantum physicist pioneer Max Planck, who writes to fellow physicist Paul Epstein. Dated 19 January 1938, Planck muses on the first law of thermodynamics (before it was recognized as such), responding to Epstein's mention of the 18th century scientist Albrecht von Haller learning that liquid warms by shaking. On Planck's personal stationery, letter in German reads in full, ''Dear Doctor! / Your kind letter of the 17th of this month and the attached article on the background of the first fundamental theorem gave me great pleasure, for which I thank you sincerely. Concerning the content of your essay, your mentioning of [Albrecht von] Haller's finding that 'water, as well as milk, when moved vigorously, could reach a certain degree of warmth,' was of particular interest to me. I remember exactly one of the stories told by my teacher in Munich, Philipp [von] Jolly, who was personally acquainted with J. R. [Julius Robert von] Mayer, relating that one day Mayer had burst into his room exclaiming, full of a discoverer's joy, that water could be warmed by means of vigorous shaking. So someone else had already arrived there first after all. / But your letter made me happy in personal terms as well, since it was the first direct sign of life from you after some time. I am in awe about how much, considering your weakened physical condition, particularly with respect to your vision, you are still able to achieve. Many would envy even your firm handwriting. May this mental acuity remain with you during the new year as well. Very warm regards. / Yours respectfully, / M. Planck''. Two page letter on a single sheet measures 5.875'' x 7''. Single fold, staple puncture and light toning. Very good condition.
Max Planck Autograph Letter Signed, Musing on the First Law of Thermodynamics -- ''...Mayer had burst into his room exclaiming...that water could be warmed by means of vigorous shaking...''
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