Detailed and interesting autograph letter signed by physicist Erwin Schrodinger, one of the pioneers of quantum physics who won the Nobel Prize in 1933 for his Schrodinger Equation. In the 1950s, Schrodinger also worked with Albert Einstein and physicist Behram Kursunoglu on creating a Unified Field Theory -- the attempt to reconcile quantum physics with the Theory of Relativity -- referred to in scientific literature as the Einstein-Schrodinger-Kursunoglu theory. In this letter to Kursunoglu, Schrodinger expresses his rather extreme displeasure with Kursunoglu's conclusions regarding the Unified Field Theory.
Dated 15 October 1951, letter reads in part, ''Dear Mr. Kursunoglu, I have no time to study your paper now. I am amazed to the extent of finding it difficult to believe, that the modification you suggest, should entail
a.) the equations of motion for a charged mass particle[?] to be about what is to be expected from older theories, and
b.) the electromagnetic field acting as a source of the gravitational potential in much the same way as one would expect from Einstein's theory & Maxwell's theory.''
He then writes a cutting but diplomatic note, ''I advise you to check upon this very carefully, to see whether your astonishingly brief reasoning is really valid.''
Schrodinger then comments upon work done by Max Born, noting that one of Born's conclusions was ''marred by a mistake that remained for a long time unnoticed.'' He then writes that a calculation mistake done by Kursunoglu is ''incorrect, fortunately! Stronger fields than 200,000 Gauss have been produced. Moreover, if Born's non-linearity would come into play at the order of, say 50,000 Gauss, this would have been noticed long ago. / Yours truly / E. Schrodinger.''
Unified Field Theory was a dream never realized by either Schrodinger or Einstein, with the elusive reconciliation of all physics disciplines still waiting for the next Nobel Prize winner to crack. Two page letter on a single sheet of stationery from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, School of Theoretical Physics measures 8.25'' x 10.5''. Tape repair at edge of center fold, else near fine condition. Accompanied by Kursunoglu's original letter to Schrodinger dated 13 October 1951, where he writes in part, ''I have now completed a detailed account of the new version of the unified field theory.''