| RefNo | MS/603/10/109 |
| Previous numbers | 1881 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from W T [William Turner] Thiselton-Dyer, Kew, to [Joseph] Larmor |
| Creator | Dyer; Sir William Turner Thiselton- (1843-1928); British botanist |
| Recipient | Larmor; Sir Joseph (1857-1942); Irish theoretical physicist |
| Date | 20 January 1905 |
| Description | He was shocked at Larmor's disapproval of [Marcus Manuel] Hartog's paper and does not understand why. The attempt to give a physical explanation for the figures is an old one and Thiselton-Dyer thought that he had started matters in a lecture to the Royal Institution many years go, using Faraday's large electromagnet. There is quite a literature on the subject but Hartog has been more successful in imitating the phenomenon, taking into account the action of the cell wall. Thiselton-Dyer found that Hartog was sending his results to the Comptes Rendus and therefore he thought it might be good enough for the Royal Society. [Stephane] Leduc had recently tried to explain the phenomena by diffraction, but Hartog is more convincing. Thiselton-Dyer is no physicist, but [John] Joly had examined Hartog's work and took no exception to it. Larmor's remark that this was not a question for botanists puzzled him, and he does not agree: karyokinesis is common to all organisms and he notes Farmer's 'splendid discovery' relating to cancer. He describes what he means by 'force' as a non-physicist. |
| Extent | 4p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7968 | Thiselton-Dyer; Sir; William Turner (1843 - 1928); botanist | 1843 - 1928 |