Abstract
PROF. LEONARD HILL has brought together in small compass a mass of valuable material bearing on the health-giving properties of sunshine and open air. He analyses the scientific facts which explain the curative effects of the Alpine climate, contrasting the composi tion and physiological effects of high and low atmo spheres. The value of this section is enhanced by a large series of comparative observations, not only on the hours of bright sunshine in numerous stations, but also by the exact measurement of the intensity of the sunlight and that of light reflected from the sky and the ground. These measurements are made both in terms of heat and of their biological action. The chapter on the influence of moisture, mist, temperature is well worthy of careful consideration, as it offers explanations of the morbidity of the town dweller and the risks of infection run in confined sunless communities. In the chapter on the biological action of light, the author has summarised a large amount of valuable work done under his supervision in the Department of Applied Physiology in the National Institute for Medical Re search. This work comprises the development of instru ments for the precise measurement of actinic light both chemically and by its action on protozoa, the depth of penetration of various radiations, and their influence on the blood of animals and man. The introductory chapter gives a practical account of the writer's personal experiences of the “sun cure,” and the work is illustrated by some very clear half-tone reproductions.
Sunshine and Open Air: their Influence on Health, with special reference to the Alpine Climate.
Leonard
Hill
By. Pp. vii + 132 + 8 plates. (London: E. Arnold and Co., 1924.) 10s. 6d. net.
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Sunshine and Open Air: their Influence on Health, with special reference to the Alpine Climate . Nature 115, 259 (1925). https://doi.org/10.1038/115259c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/115259c0