D O C U M E N T S 3 7 9 , 3 8 0 N O V E M B E R 1 9 2 4 3 6 7
I’m glad that Albert is in such good shape. Perhaps he’ll lay another one of his
important eggs.
I give each of you, one after another, a very affectionate kiss. Yours,
Maja.
Give my greetings also to Alice, dear
Elsa.[5]
She is such a dear, affectionate
creature. Are they definitely settling in Berlin or do they even already have an
apartment? It’s good that Alice has you, dear Elsa; she’s so much in need of sup-
port. Have you seen the assessor
Regensburger?[6]
Many kind regards also to Uncle and
Aunt.[7]
379. To Auguste Piccard
Berlin, 27 November 1924
Dear Mr. Piccard,
I thank you cordially for your
letter.[1]
Two things must be carefully avoided.
1) Dislodging of solid and liquid particles. Could this not be avoided by a suit-
able obstruction at the vessel opening?
2) Active replacement of the gas in the vicinity of the vessel, as ion transport is
always attached to that.
3) Condensation of water on the evaporation vessel. As regards the sign of the
effect, we must guard ourselves against prejudices. My considerations stand on
weak legs, you know. It is furthermore remarkable that balloon measurements of
electricity in the air always yielded an excess of positive
ions.[2]
The formation of
negative charge in the earth would be interpreted, in the case of a positive electricity
appetite of “neutral” matter, as that ion-free air on the ground preferentially picks
up positive ones from among radioactively formed ions.
With the request that you continue to keep me abreast of the progress and diffi-
culties of these experiments, I am with cordial regards, yours,
380. To Gonzague de Reynold
Berlin, 27 November 1924
Esteemed Colleague,
Many thanks for your letter and the check for the Russian
academy.[1]
I hope the
one for the Jewish students will be coming soon as
well.[2]
(I disbursed 200 marks