might be injurious at a time when seeking public adulation was considered a personal
failing, Einstein withdrew his permission. Initially, Moszkowski agreed to halt publication,
but the publisher overruled him. Money had been invested. It was too late to stop
what was already well under way. With the publisher’s permission, Moszkowski and Einstein
settled on cosmetic changes in an effort to distance Einstein from the book’s contents.
The book was published with a new, more neutral title, Einstein the Seeker , and a foreword stating that Einstein had not read its contents. In addition, Moszkowski
and the publisher deleted much of the material directly attributed to Einstein.
Einstein wrote the Borns a letter minimizing what he believed would be the consequences
of the 1921 publication of Einstein the Seeker :
The whole business is a matter of indifference to me, along with the clamor and opinion
of all persons. . . . By the way, M. [Moszkowski] really is preferable to me than
Lenard and Wien. For the latter cause problems for the love of making a stink, and
the former only in order to earn money (which really is more reasonable and better).
I shall live through all that awaits me like an uninvolved spectator.
In Heidelberg, Lenard reflected upon the recent events. He would be neither “uninvolved”
nor a “spectator.” The Moszkowski affair was further proof of the Working Society’s
accusations. There was no doubting the Jew’s complicity. Nearly a year had passed
since Einstein had publicly insulted him. He had not forgotten. Einstein remained
unrepentant. Sitting in his office at the University of Heidelberg, Lenard pondered
his next moves. In time, he would know what to do. After all, he had dealt with a
similar situation before.
Chapter 6
A Missed Opportunity
Long before the attack on Einstein at the Berlin Philharmonic and the debate at Bad
Nauheim, Lenard had focused his rancor on Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, the discoverer
of X-rays. The conflict between the two men was based on many of the same elements
as Lenard’s feud with Einstein, and it occurred for many of the same reasons. In Roentgen’s
case, his serendipitous instant of discovery earned him a lifetime of Lenard’s envy.
Lenard had begun working with cathode ray tubes by 1893, when he joined the Karlsruhe
laboratory of the famous German physicist, Heinrich Hertz. “Cathode rays are a phenomenon
which occurs when electricity is discharged in a rarefied gas,” Lenard explained.
If an electric current is led through a glass tube containing rarefied gas, certain
radiation phenomena appear both in the gas and around the metal wires, or poles, through
which the current is carried. These phenomena change in form and nature if the gas
is rarefied even further . . . rays are emitted from the negative pole, called the
“cathode,” which are invisible to the naked eye but which can be observed through
certain peculiar effects.
By 1894, when he was completing his scientific apprenticeship, Lenard had achieved
a great deal, including improving upon the design of early cathode ray tubes developed
by Hittorf and Crookes. Lenard’s innovation was to employ a thin plate of aluminum
over an opening at the cathode end of the tube. This modification allowed Lenard to
prove the existence of cathode rays outside the confines of the tube. The opening
also made it easier than with earlier models to observe the properties of the rays.
The self-named “Lenard tube” and Lenard’s investigations brought considerable recognition
to the young scientist; after having served in a series of temporary positions for
nearly a decade, he was offered a professorship at Breslau in 1894. The next year,
he moved to Aachen; during his tenure there, events conspired to embitter Lenard over
a major missed opportunity.
On the night of November 8, 1895, while others slept soundly in the university town
failing, Einstein withdrew his permission. Initially, Moszkowski agreed to halt publication,
but the publisher overruled him. Money had been invested. It was too late to stop
what was already well under way. With the publisher’s permission, Moszkowski and Einstein
settled on cosmetic changes in an effort to distance Einstein from the book’s contents.
The book was published with a new, more neutral title, Einstein the Seeker , and a foreword stating that Einstein had not read its contents. In addition, Moszkowski
and the publisher deleted much of the material directly attributed to Einstein.
Einstein wrote the Borns a letter minimizing what he believed would be the consequences
of the 1921 publication of Einstein the Seeker :
The whole business is a matter of indifference to me, along with the clamor and opinion
of all persons. . . . By the way, M. [Moszkowski] really is preferable to me than
Lenard and Wien. For the latter cause problems for the love of making a stink, and
the former only in order to earn money (which really is more reasonable and better).
I shall live through all that awaits me like an uninvolved spectator.
In Heidelberg, Lenard reflected upon the recent events. He would be neither “uninvolved”
nor a “spectator.” The Moszkowski affair was further proof of the Working Society’s
accusations. There was no doubting the Jew’s complicity. Nearly a year had passed
since Einstein had publicly insulted him. He had not forgotten. Einstein remained
unrepentant. Sitting in his office at the University of Heidelberg, Lenard pondered
his next moves. In time, he would know what to do. After all, he had dealt with a
similar situation before.
Chapter 6
A Missed Opportunity
Long before the attack on Einstein at the Berlin Philharmonic and the debate at Bad
Nauheim, Lenard had focused his rancor on Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, the discoverer
of X-rays. The conflict between the two men was based on many of the same elements
as Lenard’s feud with Einstein, and it occurred for many of the same reasons. In Roentgen’s
case, his serendipitous instant of discovery earned him a lifetime of Lenard’s envy.
Lenard had begun working with cathode ray tubes by 1893, when he joined the Karlsruhe
laboratory of the famous German physicist, Heinrich Hertz. “Cathode rays are a phenomenon
which occurs when electricity is discharged in a rarefied gas,” Lenard explained.
If an electric current is led through a glass tube containing rarefied gas, certain
radiation phenomena appear both in the gas and around the metal wires, or poles, through
which the current is carried. These phenomena change in form and nature if the gas
is rarefied even further . . . rays are emitted from the negative pole, called the
“cathode,” which are invisible to the naked eye but which can be observed through
certain peculiar effects.
By 1894, when he was completing his scientific apprenticeship, Lenard had achieved
a great deal, including improving upon the design of early cathode ray tubes developed
by Hittorf and Crookes. Lenard’s innovation was to employ a thin plate of aluminum
over an opening at the cathode end of the tube. This modification allowed Lenard to
prove the existence of cathode rays outside the confines of the tube. The opening
also made it easier than with earlier models to observe the properties of the rays.
The self-named “Lenard tube” and Lenard’s investigations brought considerable recognition
to the young scientist; after having served in a series of temporary positions for
nearly a decade, he was offered a professorship at Breslau in 1894. The next year,
he moved to Aachen; during his tenure there, events conspired to embitter Lenard over
a major missed opportunity.
On the night of November 8, 1895, while others slept soundly in the university town
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