The relation of life to electricity

Conclusions and summary The experiments described in this paper tend to show that the relation between stainability and electromotive forces: + basophilic substance / acidophilic substance — holds not only for fats but likewise for esters, alcohols, hydrocarbons, etc., in short for a large number of substances which bear just a remote relationship to tissue constitutents. Exceptions to this rule are very rare and are hardly found prevailing in tissue.In these experiments esters, alcohol, and other substances were rendered basophilic by the addition of a water insoluble acid or else acidophilic by the addition of a water insoluble base; measurements of the electromotive force were made. The system measured was the following:The measurements were performed by combining each ester, alcohol, or other fluid with phenol using the apparatus described in part I of this report. The difference between two such measurements may be considered to be the electromotive force of such a cell. This was demonstrated previously be means of measurements with triacetin. The reason for this is that the electromotive forces of such battery systems, as those described, are located almost entirely at the phase boundary between the aqueous solution and the water immiscible fluid.To Dr. G. W.Crile the writers wish to express their appreciation for his kind interest in the progress of this work.