The Organism as a Whole, from a Physicochemical ViewpointLoeb, Jacques
Science
The Organism as a Whole, from a Physicochemical Viewpoint
Loeb, Jacques
Biology; Life (Biology); Mendel's law
---------+-----------------------------------------------------------
| _Difference of Intensity between the Two Lights_
_Number +---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
of | 0 | 8-1/3 | 16-2/3 | 25 | 33-1/3 | 50
Glowers_|per cent.|per cent.|per cent.|per cent.|per cent.|per cent.
---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
| _Deflection in Degrees_
1 | -0.55 | -2.32 | -5.27 | -9.04 | -11.86 | -19.46
2 | -0.10 | -3.05 | -6.12 | -8.55 | -11.92 | -22.28
3 | +0.45 | -2.60 | -5.65 | -8.73 | -13.15 | -20.52
4 | -0.025 | -2.98 | -6.60 | -9.66 | -11.76 | -19.88
5 | -0.225 | -2.92 | -5.125 | -8.30 | -10.92 | -19.28
---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Average | -0.09 | -2.77 | -5.75 | -8.86 | -11.92 | -20.28
---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Such constancy of quantitative results is only possible where we are
dealing with purely physicochemical phenomena or where life phenomena
are unequivocally determined by purely physicochemical conditions.
5. It seems difficult for some biologists, even with the validity of
the Bunsen-Roscoe law proven, to imagine that the movements of the
animals under the influence of light are not voluntary (or not dictated
by the mysterious “trial and error” method of Jennings).[231] But
one wonders how it is possible on such an assumption to account for
the fact that the angle of deflection of the larva of the fly when
under the influence of two lights of different intensities should be
always the same for a given difference in intensity; or why the time
for curvature in _Eudendrium_ should vary inversely with the intensity
of illumination. It is, however, possible to complete the case for
the purely physicochemical analysis of these instincts. John Hays
Hammond, Jr., has succeeded in constructing heliotropic machines which
in the dark follow a lantern very much in the manner of a positively
heliotropic animal. The eyes of this heliotropic machine consist of two
lenses in whose focus is situated the “retina” consisting of selenium
wire. The two eyes are separated from each other by a projecting piece
of wood which represents the nose and allows one eye to receive light
while the other is shaded. The galvanic resistance of selenium is
altered by light; and when one selenium wire is shaded while the other
is illuminated, the electric energy (supplied by batteries inside the
machine) which makes the wheels turn (these take the place of the legs
of the normal animal) no longer flows symmetrically to the steering
wheel, and the machine turns towards the light. In this way the
machine follows a lantern in a dark room in a way similar to that of a
positively heliotropic animal. Here we have a model of the heliotropic
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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