DOCUMENT 98 JULY 1915 149
Sie würden
uns
durch eine kurze
Würdigung
über
die wissenschaftlichen Lei-
stungen
Picards einen
großen
Dienst
erweisen,
für
den wir Ihnen
zu
aufrichtigem
Dank
verpflichtet
wären.
Da
sich die
Behandlung
des Geschäftes leider
sehr
in die
Länge gezogen hat,
und
der
Termin für
unsere Entschließungen
nahe
liegt,
darf
ich
wohl
die Bitte
um
eine
gefällige baldige
Antwort anschließen.
Genehmigen
Sie,
hochgeehrter
Herr,
die
Versicherung m. vorzüglichen
Hoch-
achtung
Mousson
Reg[ierungs-]Rat.
ALS
(SzZSa,
U 110 b
.3
(52)). [82 699].
[1]Mousson (1866-1944)
was
the Director
of
the
Department
of
Education,
Canton
of
Zurich.
[2]Alfred
Kleiner had
resigned
his position at
the
University
of
Zurich
at the end
of
winter semester
1914/1915
(see
Aus dem
Protokoll
des
Regierungsrates
1916,
15
January
1916,
no.
132, SzZU,
Dekanatsakten,
ALF
Physik,
1914-1916). Peter
Debye
had
declined
a
call to Zurich
on
the
grounds
that the additional
lecturing
demanded “would eat into his
research
time”
(see Jungnickel
and
McCormmach
1986,
p.
302).
[3]Heinrich Greinacher (1880-1974)
was
Privatdozent in
physics at
the
University
of Zurich
and
was serving as
Kleiner’s
provisional replacement
(see
Aus
dem
Protokoll des
Regierungsrates
1916,
15 January 1916,
no.
132, SzZU, Dekanatsakten,
ALF
Physik,
1914-1916).
According
to
Debye,
Greinacher
lacked “the broad overview”
(“der
grosse
Ueberblick”)
of
his
subject, though
he
might
prove an
excellent
secondary-school
teacher
(see
Paul
Pfeiffer, Dekan,
to Heinrich
Mousson,
Erzie-
hungsdirektion,
Canton
of
Zurich,
20
May
1915, SzZU, Dekanatsakten,
ALF
Physik,
1914-1916).
[4]A
lecture
by
Albert Perrier (1883-1962)
at
the
University
of
Lausanne,
where he
was
Professor
of
Physics,
had been attended
by
Mousson
and Kleiner.
They
had
come away
with the
impression
that
Perrier
was
unable to
distinguish
between
the essential and the
peripheral (see
the minutes
of
the
sixth
meeting
of
the Hochschulkommission, 29 June 1915, and Auszug
aus
dem
Protokoll des
Erziehungs-
rates,
Canton of
Zurich,
6
July 1915,
no.
850,
both in
SzZSa,
UU 23a
.8).
[5]Auguste Piccard.
[6]Pierre
Weiss (1865-1940)
was
Professor of
Experimental Physics
at the ETH. He had requested
and received
an
extension
of
a
leave
of
absence from
teaching
in
summer
semester 1915.
Piccard
was
reappointed
as
his
replacement
for
that
period
(see
SzZE Schulratsarchiv
1915,
Protokoll des Präsi-
denten, 16
March
1915,
no.
78).
A factor
weighing against
Piccard,
as against
Perrier, was
that
both
were thought
to
be in the
research
thrall
of
Weiss. Should
either
be
appointed,
it
was
feared
that the
physics
institute
of the
university might
fall under the
sway
of
the ETH
(see
Paul
Pfeiffer, Dekan,
to Heinrich
Mousson,
Er-
ziehungsdirektion,
Canton
of
Zurich,
26
June
1915, SzZU, Dekanatsakten,
ALF
Physik,
1914-1916).
98. To
Hendrik
A.
Lorentz
Sellin
(Rügen)
21. VII
15.
Lieber und
hoch verehrter
Herr
Kollege!
Neulich
sprach
ich mit
Planck
und wir
gedachten
beide
wehmütig
der herben
Trennung,
die zwischen
uns
und
den hoch
geschätzten Fachgenossen
des Auslands
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