The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1902-05-19
MAKES A GREAT CHANCE.
Eectricity to Revoiutionlzs the sciercs
of Medicine

university Club recently on line OF
thought to which he has given much
attention In his laboratory at the lsa1-
sas niversity-electricit future
bearing on medical science in the light
of the work of Professor Loeb. Mr..
Blake has followed the Loeb discov-
cries very closely and earnestly and he
Believes they will revolutionize the
medical practice and take Il from the
empirical to the actual and positive.
Professor Loeb and some others hold
that all life is along electrical lines ana
that in a word electricity is life
I'VE have been obliged to change
most of our ideas within the last Eve
years said he, "and have had 70 build
up a new chemical science. Now
physiology belongs to electricity, and
am eager to welcome It; some day we
will reach out and grasp astronomy
This means a new chemistry, aud It
will mean a new science OF medicine.
That is startling, but true, In the hight
of recent discoveries"
Mr.. Blake told of the Pfeifer discov-
cry that q cell of sugar, for instance,
in solution would swell. in other
words, there is a pressure from the in
side. Others experimenting along the
same line found that the pressure bore
relation to the solid in solution. II
was ascertained that the particles
moved as If gaseous and that the laws
of gases governed them. That the ex-
ceptions were, il was ascertained,
greater than the rule. Salt was au ex-
ception; it was ascertained that Il
when dissolved was charged with elec-
tricity, each atom having its charge.
These are called ions. Electricity will
pass through water only when these
ions are present. Air or gas breaks up
into ions before the electrical spark
passes through it, and She electricity
sxips along on them. This makes the
Jagged fash of lightning. The diseoy-
cry of j. 7. Thompson 0f Cambridge,
who discovered particles 1000 OF a
hydrogen atom, till then believed the
smallest thing in the world, was de-
scribed.
They exist In all substances, and
are negative electrical particles. We
call them corpuscles," said he. '"Thpy
are shot out from every nlament in ar
electric lamp, and the ultra violet rays
Of the sun produce them. They are IL
all nature They ionize the upper lay
ers of the atmosphere and Tesla is
taking advantage of them in his wire
less experiments. They fall in q moist
atmosphere and the moisture collects
about them and we have rain. They
are always negatively electric; the
1891, 600 OF an atom left is positive.
Mr.. Thompson holds that these mega.
tives are In all nature and are the
prinoids Of beginnings Of all things
But | don't believe it"
Coagulation of water, Mr.. Blake said,
was caused by ions, and this fact
would change the whole science or
philosophy.
The delta of the Mississippi is not
caused by the sluggishnsss of the wa.
ter. but because the silt in the water is
precipitated by the salt in the gull
water; the salt produces the ions. Tht
precipltant must be of the opposite
electrical pole. The mixture OF sub.
stance and liquid which will not settle
is called a eolloid. The curious fact is
that plant and animal substances are
made up exactly on the same prlnci-
pies; nearly all of mans substances
are colloids. The discoveries of Pro
fessor Loeb and Professor Matthews
are on these lines"
The action of the leaf of the sensitive
plant, which closes on a touch, Is
caused by precipitation of the colloid
Salt and water solution has been found
to have peculiar action on muscles and
nerves. The hearts OF certain animals
placed in solutions, have BEEN maze to
beat for hours, and experiments nave
shown that the nerve action in every
being Is produced by negative electric
ity because this acts on the cOlloid
which every nerve contains. An anaes.
thetic acts just the other way; il is
positive and prevents coagulation OF
precipitation Simply the salts are
kept in solution. This shows that tn
action in a nerve is exactly the same a
it Is in inanimate nature. The ions &c
the work the nervous impulse is due
TO negative charges on them The pro
cess is purely mechanical.
Mr.. Blake held in brief that negative
electricity was necessary to life that
positive electricity was poisonous.
Poisons could be neutralized by mega
tive electricity Medicines are polcons
given to couLteract lack OF negative
electricity The whole science OF mcdl-
cine in the future, he said, would sim
ply be the application Of the study o.
electricity. The rate of vibration must
be considered in this, as well as the
size OF the charge-and all OF this is
yet to be developed
''The key of all is that the action o.
the nerves and muscles is just the same
as are the actions of mechanicals." he
said. I'VE are learning today that the
action of medicine poisOns is simply
electrical and we can study them IL
that line. Then we will study our foodi
and learn how to produce them from
the soil just with the rays Of light and
we will learn their effect on US Grad
ually We will learn how to build mp tho
perfect man. This is the most wonder.
ful thing and the newest If this age -
Kansas City Journal