234
DOCS.
322,
323
DECEMBER
1911
they
feel
that
a
maximally
nonpartisan
evaluation
based
on
purely
scientific
consider-
ations
that
would be consistent
with
having
Ornstein
or van
Laar, and not Keesom,
rank
second
on
the
list
of recommended
candidates,
after
Debije as
the
first
candidate,[4]
would have
a
favorable
influence. I
myself
am
of the
opinion
that
this
would
not
eliminate the
danger; besides,
I
believe-unless
my
memory
deceives
me-that
I
have
to conclude
from
our
oral
discussion[5]
that
you,
in
fact,
rate
Keesom
higher
than
you
do
Ornstein. Van
Laar, who
is
even more
exclusively
a
thermodynamicist
than
Keesom,
was
not
even
in
the
picture
at
that
time.
But
the
faculty
will
attach
great importance
to
knowing exactly
what
your
much-valued
opinion
on
this
matter is
and
to being
able to
take
it
into
account.
It
is
a
great
pity
that the
decision will
thus,
once again,
be somwhat
delayed,
and
that
our
students
must
go
without instruction
for such
a
long
time. I
beg you
therefore
to
forgive our faculty
for
being so
importune
as
to ask
you
for
the fastest
possible reply.
Yours
very truly,
W. H. Julius
323.
From Marian
von
Smoluchowski
[Lvov]
12
December
1911
Highly
esteemed
Colleague:
Thank
you very
much for
your
interesting
letter,[1]
and
please
forgive
me
for
not
answering
your letter,
on
account
of
a
one-week
absence,
until
today.
I
must
admit
that
your
remark
regarding
Rayleigh's
formula
for the
opalescence
of
an
ideal
gas
was
absolutely
right.
Indeed,
Rayleigh's
calculation
is correct
only
on
the
assumption
of
an
irregular
molecular distribution
(of
the kind
that
occurs
in
an
ideal
gas),
and
a
superposition
of
two
effects,
as
described
in
the
appendix to
my
paper
on
opalescence, is
therefore
out
of the
question.
I
am now
surprised
myself
that
I put
forth that
assertion, and
I
believe
that
I
would
hardly
have
done
it if
I
had had
Rayleigh's
paper
in
front of
me
at
the
time I
was writing
the
thing-which
took
place during
a
stay
in the
country.
I
am
going
to set
the
thing
right
at
the first
opportunity,
and in the meantime
I wish to
thank
you
for
your
kind
suggestion.
With
best
regards, I
remain
your very
devoted
M. S.