Life Movements in Plants, Volume IBose, Jagadis Chandra
Science
Life Movements in Plants, Volume I
Bose, Jagadis Chandra
Growth (Plants); Plants -- Irritability and movements
The exciting value of a tetanizing electric shock depends (1) on the
intensity, (2) on the duration of shock. The intensity may be rendered
uniform by placing the secondary at a fixed distance from the primary,
and keeping the current in the primary circuit constant. The constancy
of the current in primary circuit is secured by the employment of an
accumulator or storage cell of definite electromotive force. It is
far more difficult to secure the constant duration of the tetanizing
shock in successive stimulations at intervals of, say, one hour during
twenty-four hours. The duration of the induction shock given by the
secondary coil depends on the length of time during which the primary
circuit is completed in successive excitations. I have succeeded in
overcoming the difficulty of securing uniformity of duration of shock
by the employment of a special clockwork device.
_The clockwork plunger._--The alarum clock can be so arranged that a
wheel is suddenly released and allowed to complete one rapid revolution
at intervals of, say, one hour. There is a fan-governor by which the
speed of the revolution can be regulated and maintained constant. This
will specially be the case when the alarum spring is long and fully
wound. The succession of short releases twenty-four times during the
day produce relatively little unwinding of the spring. On account of
this and the presence of the fan-governor, the period of a single
revolution of the wheel remains constant. By means of an eccentric
the circular movement is converted into an up and down movement. The
plunging rod R thus dips into a cup of mercury M, for a definite
short interval and is then lifted off. The duration of closure can be
regulated by raising or lowering the cup of mercury. In practice the
duration of tetanizing shock is about 0.2 second.
The same clock performs three functions. The axis which revolves once
in twelve hours has attached to it a wheel, and round this is wound
a thread which allows the recording glass plate to fall through six
inches in the course of twenty-four hours. A spoke attached to the
minute hand releases the alarum at regular and pre-determined intervals
of time, say once in an hour. The plunging rod R, actuated by the
eccentric, causes a tetanizing shock of uniform intensity and duration
to be given to the plant at specified times.
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