Response in the Living and Non-Living

Response in the Living and
Non-Living, by

Jagadis Chunder Bose This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at
no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,
give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg
License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Response in the Living and Non-Living
Author: Jagadis Chunder Bose
Release Date: August 3, 2006 [EBook #18986]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RESPONSE
IN LIVING AND NON-LIVING ***

Produced by Bryan Ness, Laura Wisewell and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

RESPONSE IN THE LIVING
AND NON-LIVING
BY JAGADIS CHUNDER BOSE, M.A.(CANTAB.), D.Sc.(LOND.)

PROFESSOR, PRESIDENCY COLLEGE, CALCUTTA
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW,
LONDON NEW YORK AND BOMBAY 1902
All rights reserved

'The real is one: wise men call it variously' RIG VEDA
To my Countrymen This Work is Dedicated

PREFACE
I have in the present work put in a connected and a more complete form
results, some of which have been published in the following Papers:
'De la Généralité des Phénomènes Moléculaires produits par
l'Electricité sur la matière Inorganique et sur la matière Vivante.'
(Travaux du Congrès International de Physique. Paris, 1900.)
'On the Similarity of Effect of Electrical Stimulus on Inorganic and
Living Substances.' (Report, Bradford Meeting British Association,
1900.--Electrician.)
'Response of Inorganic Matter to Stimulus.' (Friday Evening Discourse,
Royal Institution, May 1901.)
'On Electric Response of Inorganic Substances. Preliminary Notice.'
(Royal Society, June 1901.)
'On Electric Response of Ordinary Plants under Mechanical Stimulus.'
(Journal Linnean Society, 1902.)
'Sur la Réponse Electrique dans les Métaux, les Tissus Animaux et

Végétaux.' (Société de Physique, Paris, 1902.)
'On the Electro-Motive Wave accompanying Mechanical Disturbance
in Metals in contact with Electrolyte.' (Proceedings Royal Society,
vol. 70.)
'On the Strain Theory of Vision and of Photographic Action.' (Journal
Royal Photographic Society, vol. xxvi.)
These investigations were commenced in India, and I take this
opportunity to express my grateful acknowledgments to the Managers
of the Royal Institution, for the facilities offered me to complete them
at the Davy-Faraday Laboratory.
J. C. BOSE.
DAVY-FARADAY LABORATORY, ROYAL INSTITUTION,
LONDON: May 1902.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
THE MECHANICAL RESPONSE OF LIVING SUBSTANCES
PAGE Mechanical response--Different kinds of stimuli--Myograph
--Characteristics of response-curve: period, amplitude,
form--Modification of response-curves 1
CHAPTER II
ELECTRIC RESPONSE
Conditions for obtaining electric response--Method of injury--Current
of injury--Injured end, cuproid: uninjured, zincoid--Current of response
in nerve from more excited to less excited--Difficulties of present
nomenclature--Electric recorder--Two types of response, positive and
negative--Universal applicability of electric mode of response--Electric

response a measure of physiological activity--Electric response in
plants 5
CHAPTER III
ELECTRIC RESPONSE IN PLANTS--METHOD OF NEGATIVE
VARIATION
Negative variation--Response recorder--Photographic
recorder--Compensator--Means of graduating intensity of
stimulus--Spring-tapper and torsional vibrator--Intensity of stimulus
dependent on amplitude of vibration--Effectiveness of stimulus
dependent on rapidity also 17
CHAPTER IV
ELECTRIC RESPONSE IN PLANTS--BLOCK METHOD
Method of block--Advantages of block method--Plant response a
physiological phenomenon--Abolition of response by anæsthetics and
poisons--Abolition of response when plant is killed by hot water 27
CHAPTER V
PLANT RESPONSE--ON THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE STIMULUS
AND OF SUPERPOSED STIMULI
Effect of single stimulus--Superposition of stimuli--Additive
effect--Staircase effect--Fatigue--No fatigue when sufficient interval
between stimuli--Apparent fatigue when stimulation frequency is
increased--Fatigue under continuous stimulation 35
CHAPTER VI
PLANT RESPONSE--ON DIPHASIC VARIATION
Diphasic variation--Positive after-effect and positive response--Radial
E.M. variation 44

CHAPTER VII
PLANT RESPONSE--ON THE RELATION BETWEEN STIMULUS
AND RESPONSE
Increased response with increasing stimulus--Apparent diminution of
response with excessively strong stimulus 51
CHAPTER VIII
PLANT RESPONSE--ON THE INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE
Effect of very low temperature--Influence of high
temperature--Determination of death-point--Increased response as
after-effect of temperature variation--Death of plant and abolition of
response by the action of steam 59
CHAPTER IX
PLANT RESPONSE--EFFECT OF ANÆSTHETICS AND POISONS
Effect of anæsthetics, a test of vital character of response--Effect of
chloroform--Effect of chloral--Effect of formalin--Method in which
response is unaffected by variation of resistance--Advantage of block
method--Effect of dose 71
CHAPTER X
RESPONSE IN METALS
Is response found in inorganic substances?--Experiment on tin, block
method--Anomalies of existing terminology--Response by method of
depression--Response by method of exaltation 81
CHAPTER XI
INORGANIC RESPONSE--MODIFIED APPARATUS TO EXHIBIT

RESPONSE IN METALS
Conditions of obtaining quantitative measurements--Modification of
the block method--Vibration cell--Application of stimulus--Graduation
of the intensity of stimulus--Considerations showing that electric
response is due to molecular disturbance--Test experiment--Molecular
voltaic cell 91
CHAPTER XII
INORGANIC RESPONSE--METHOD OF ENSURING
CONSISTENT RESULTS
Preparation of wire--Effect of single stimulus 100
CHAPTER XIII
INORGANIC RESPONSE--MOLECULAR MOBILITY: ITS
INFLUENCE ON RESPONSE
Effects of molecular inertia--Prolongation of period of recovery by
overstrain--Molecular model--Reduction of molecular sluggishness
attended by quickened recovery and heightened response--Effect of
temperature--Modification of latent period and period of recovery by
the action of chemical reagents--Diphasic variation 104
CHAPTER XIV
INORGANIC RESPONSE--FATIGUE, STAIRCASE, AND
MODIFIED RESPONSE
Fatigue in metals--Fatigue under