DOCS.
81,
82 MAY
1915 95
On
the other
hand,
however,
Sc
- SB
is
not
zero
in
the
case
of
a
diluted
solution,
e.g., equal
to
RlgV2/V1.
Thus
SD-SA
=
(SB
-
SA)
-
(Sc
-
SD)
+
(Sc
-SB)
=
SC-
SB,
likewise
other
than
0.
Through
examination of
the
specific
heat
of
isotopic mixtures,
this
conse-
quence should, incidentally,
be
exactly
testable. In
my view,
the
success
of
such
experiments
can
be
expected quite
safely.
Please let
me
know
your
view
on
this.
With
greetings
and best wishes
on
your
continued
well-being, yours very truly,
A.
Einstein.
82. To
Wander
and
Geertruida de Haas
[Berlin,
ca.
10 May
1915][1]
Dear
Friends,
Mrs. de Haas
firstly,
I
have received
your
letter.
The matter
regarding your
involuntary
plagiarism
at
my
hand
is not
so
serious. For
I wrote
“together
with
Mr.
de
Haas-Lorentz.”[2]
As
no one
will
have
the
audacity
to
intimate the
least
doubt about the
gender
of either
of
you,
this
specification
is
clear.[3]
Now
I just
have
to
defend
myself
about
why
I wrote
de Haas-Lorentz
at all. I
did it instinc-
tively,
without
thinking.
The
reason
is
this. In
Switzerland it is often
customary
to
add
the
wife’s
maiden
name
to
the husband’s
name, probably
because
many
surnames recur
very frequently.
On the
other
hand,
I made
your
first
acquain-
tance,
dear
de
Haas,
as
the
husband
of
Lorentz’s
daughter,
and it
is
quite
natural
that
I
should have
repeatedly
mentioned “Lorentz’s son-in-law” in conversation
as
a more
precise description
of
your person.
Now I
am racking
my
brains
in
vain
about what
I
ought
to
correct there.
Is
it
a
disgrace
to be described
as
Lorentz’s
son-in-law?
I
assure
you first,
de
Haas,
that
I
would submit to
it
gladly
and with
pride
at all
times,
if
it
were
I.
But in
any
case,
I
regret
it
very
much
if I
have
produced any painful feelings
in
you
both
and
am very willing
to do
anything
and
write
anything you
want.
But
I
do not
think
it
wise;
put
yourself
in
the
place
of
the
obliging
reader
who
always
has
a
toothy
grin
at
the
ready.
Let
us
not
give
the
rascal nourishment!