Distinguished German physicist (1845-1923) who discovered X-rays in 1895, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1901. ALS in German, signed "W. C. Rontgen," both sides of a 4.25 x 3.5 card, Physics Institute, University of Munich letterhead, February 22, 1916. Letter to a colleague. In full (translated): "Many thanks for the telephoto lens, but especially for the difficult-to-produce gold solution, which I had the chance to admire in the paraboloid condenser just yesterday. It will become a part of the collection along with its dedication label. And now I must beg your forgiveness for only today—and perhaps too late—getting around to informing you that I, of course, have no objection whatsoever if you wish to borrow the Institute's phonic wheel for a little while. The reason why your request slipped my mind was simply that I have been having a bout of influenza that even kept me from setting foot out of the house for part of the time." In fine condition.
In 1900, just one year before receiving the first Nobel Prize in Physics 'in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him,' Wilhelm Rontgen accepted the Chair of the Physics department at the University of Munich, where he would remain for the next two decades. Despite his international celebrity, he remained a modest and reserved man, continuing his scientific inquiries into a broad area of subjects—from the influence of pressure on the refractive indices of various fluids, to the modification of planes of polarized light by electromagnetic influences, to variations in the functions of temperature and compressibility of water and other fluids. As he always had, Rontgen worked unassisted and built the majority of his apparatuses himself. The passion with which he thanks his colleague for materials and discusses lab equipment—from admiring gold solution "in the paraboloid condenser" (used to condense dark-fields to bring items into focus), to graciously offering "the Institute's phonic wheel" (for determining the frequency of tuning wheels)—makes this an excellent letter from the Nobel-winning physicist.
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