Overview

From the INTRODUCTION. Radiation is known to have a powerful effect on the many reactions, chemical and physical, which accompany - and possibly constitute - the phenomenon called life. The maintenance of life on this planet is entirely dependent on a light-reaction; the synthesis of carbohydrates in the green leaf. The oxygen supply of the tissues in higher animals, that most important function of the hemoglobin, is influenced by radiation. Zwaardemaker, in a series of papers on physiological energetics, points out that the general form of the first law of thermodynamics; total energy equals heat exchange minus external labour, has no explicit physiological meaning. In order to obtain a more serviceable form of the first law he analyzes the total energy change in its different components; the last factor in this series being the radiant energy. This radiant energy cannot be neglected in the equation, especially in the energy balance of green plants, and Zwaardemaker goes as far as to remark that: Eine wirklich biologische Energetik hatte sogar letztere der Reihe von Energieformen (i.e. radiant energy) als erstes Glied an die Spitze zu stellen. Leider befindet sich das theoretische Studium hier noch ganz im Anfang und durfen wir in unseren Formeln die Lichtenergie nur pro memoria fuhren. Since all vital energy can be derived from radiant energy it seems unwarranted to exclude, or even to mention pro memoria this form of energy. In this paper radiation will be considered as a factor in the energy balance of the organism. A living cell is an energy transformer. The diversity of its intricate mechanism allows for many different energy transformations. The transformations in which chemical and thermal energies are concerned can be studied with the help of thermodynamics and thermo-chemistry. A study on such processes has been carried out in several cases. The transformations in which radiant energy is concerned are imperfectly known. A complete energy balance for the radiant energy of a physiological reaction has never been worked out. Inasmuch as a living cell can be compared with a closed opaque container it may be assumed that a certain amount of heat radiation of any frequency is always present within the cell. Therefore every chemical reaction takes place in a bath of radiation. Heat, the effect of molecular movement; radiation, the effect of electronic movement are coexisting phenomena accompanying every chemical (and physiological) reaction. It is not improbable that in this bath of heat radiation there is radiation of a certain frequency, which frequency shows a definite relation to an electronic frequency within the chemical system. According to the principle of resonance, the chemical system would be influenced in that case by the radiation of that frequency. Now Perrin advocates the idea that the radiant energy is the cause of the combination and dissociation of the molecules in every chemical reaction. The immediate consequence of this hypothesis would be that vital phenomena were caused by radiation.

Full Product Details

9781535268080

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available