Abstract
PROF. J. B. SCHNETZLER records in the Archives des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles, some observations on the spontaneous motion of the protoplasm in the cells of the leaves of the common water-weed, the Anacharis alsinastrum. The writer remarks that whether the cause of the motion is found, as some have maintained, in the successive contractions or vibrations of the exterior layer of the protoplasm, which transmit themselves to the interior layers; or whether the successive displacements of the molecules is produced by causes purely mechanical, as others have held, it still remains to be explained what produces these contractions or displacements. It is incontestable that they are found only in living protoplasm. Prof. Schnetzler believes that the principal cause which provokes the motion is the chemical action of oxygen, which passes through the wall of the cell, and of which a portion is probably transformed into ozone under the influence of light, as occurs also in the globules of blood. The most strongly refracted rays of light have a marked influence on these currents, which are also no doubt affected by the currents of electricity which form, under the influence of water, between the surface of the leaf and the contents of the cells. The energy of the motion depends principally on the temperature, showing the greatest vigour between 16° and 20° C. In the point of view of mechanical theory, we have here evidently an example of the transformation of light and of heat into motion. The Anacharis is especially favourable for the observation of these motions; as, in consequence of the transparency of its tissue, they can be watched under the microscope without any preparation.
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B., A. Botany: Spontaneous Motion of Protoplasm. Nature 1, 88 (1869). https://doi.org/10.1038/001088b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/001088b0