Showing papers in "Proceedings of The Royal Society of London in 1890"
TL;DR: It is shown that it is possible to make use of the uterus of one variety of rabbit as a medium for the growth and complete fœtal development of fertilised ova of another variety of Rabbit.
Abstract: In this preliminary note I wish merely to record an experiment by which it is shown that it is possible to make use of the uterus of one variety of rabbit as a medium for the growth and complete fœtal development of fertilised ova of another variety of rabbit. Briefly, the experiment made was as follows:—On the 27th April, 1890, two ova were obtained from an Angora doe rabbit which had been fertilised by an Angora buck thirty-two hours previously; the ova were undergoing segmentation, being divided into four segments.
231 citations
TL;DR: When an india-rubber tube is expanded by internal fluid pressure, it preserves its cylindrical form until the increase in. But, when more fluid is introduced, the condition of the tube becomes unstable, and the internal fluid pressures diminishes as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: When an india-rubber tube is expanded by internal fluid pressure, it preserves its cylindrical form until the increase in. its diameter bears a certain proportion to its diameter when unstrained; but, when more fluid is introduced, the condition of the tube becomes unstable, and the internal fluid pressure diminishes.
44 citations
TL;DR: The work which has resulted in the present paper was begun in Freiburg in the summer of 1888, when the author was fortunate enough, owing to the generosity of Professor Wiedersheim, to obtain a number of fresh specimens for examination.
Abstract: The work which has resulted in the present paper was begun in Freiburg in the summer of 1888, when the author was fortunate enough, owing to the generosity of Professor Wiedersheim, to obtain a number of fresh specimens for examination. As so many interesting points presented themselves at an early stage in the research, a short preliminary notice, without illustrations, was published in the following autumn (‘Berichte d. Naturforsch. Gesellschaft zu Freiburg i. Br.,’ vol. 4, 1888).
43 citations
TL;DR: Two years ago, in the ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ was published an account of some experiments on the plasticity of ice made by Mr. Kidd and myself.
Abstract: Two years ago, in the ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ was published an account of some experiments on the plasticity of ice made by Mr. Kidd and myself.
26 citations
TL;DR: That in the females of several Selachioids and Batoids the mucous Membrane of the terminal portion of the oviduct, or uterus, is provided with glandular structures which secrete an albuminous fluid destined for the nourishment of the developing empryo is a bionomic phenomenon which has attracted the attention numerous physiologists and histologists.
Abstract: That in the females of several Selachioids and Batoids the mucous Membrane of the terminal portion of the oviduct, or uterus, is provided with glandular structures which secrete an albuminous fluid destined in some way or other for the nourishment of the developing empryo is a bionomic phenomenon which has attracted the attention numerous physiologists and histologists, though, as far as we are aware, it has never been fully followed out.
25 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a series of broad lines in the photographic region of the spectrum which was found to be characteristic of Sirius, Vega, and other white stars was identified as a continuation of the hydrogen beyond H. In the photographs of Sirius which I had taken up to that time, I was not able to be certain if the two most refrangible of the lines, θ and l, were present.
Abstract: In 1879, I gave an account of a series of broad lines in the photographic region of the spectrum which was found to be characteristic of Sirius, Vega., and other white stars, and which was identified as a continuation of the spectrum of hydrogen beyond H. In the photographs of Sirius which I had taken up to that time, I was not able to be certain if the two most refrangible of the lines, θ and l, were present. This uncertainty has been set at rest by photographs taken since, in which the complete series of the hydrogen lines, including θ and l, come out with great distinctness.
20 citations
17 citations
TL;DR: In this article, it is stated that a film of olive oil, in two or three cases, was unable to stop the camphor motions upon a surface including only a few square inches.
Abstract: In Lord Rayleigh’s paper on the above subject, read before the Royal Society on the 27th March last, and reported in ‘Nature’ of the 8th May, it is stated that a film of olive oil, in two or three cases, “was incompetent to stop the camphor motions upon a surface including only a few square inches.” I have often noticed this fact as a consequence of the use of chemically-clean materials.
16 citations
TL;DR: The investigation was stimulated by the conclusions of studies which were carried on during the last five years, and by the observations of Bunge and Zaleski on the occurrence of iron-holding proteids in the food and in the liver.
Abstract: The investigation, some of the results of which are to he given in the present paper, was stimulated by the conclusions of studies which I carried on during the last five years, and by the observations of Bunge and Zaleski on the occurrence of iron-holding proteids in the food and in the liver.
15 citations
TL;DR: Weber's fundamental conception that the molecules of iron or nickel or cobalt are always magnets, and that the process of magnetising consists in turning them from many directions towards one direction, has been strongly confirmed by the now well established fact that there is a true saturation value, a finite limit to the intensity of magnetism, which may be reached or very closely approached by using a strong magnetic force as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: As the facts of induced magnetism become better known, increasing interest attaches to molecular theories and increasing difficulty attends the theories that are current. Weber’s fundamental conception that the molecules of iron or nickel or cobalt are always magnets, and that the process of magnetising consists in turning them from many directions towards one direction, has been strongly confirmed by the now well established fact that there is a true saturation value, a finite limit to the intensity of magnetism, which may be reached or very closely approached by using a strong magnetic force. Without going further back, to 'enquire (with Ampere) how the molecules come to be magnets, we may take this conception as the natural starting point of a theory.
14 citations
TL;DR: The increase in intracranial pressure influences the circulation and respiration through the diminution in the physiological activity of the medulla which it causes, and it is shown that the changes produced by the pressure assume a sequence according to the degree to which the activity ofthe medulla is impaired.
Abstract: The authors have made for some time the effect of an increase in intracranial pressure or tension the subject of an experimental inquiry, and they have in this paper recorded the results obtained, in so far as the increase of intracranial pressure affects the circulation and respiration. They conclude that the increase in intracranial pressure influences the circulation and respiration through the diminution in the physiological activity of the medulla which it causes, and show that the changes produced by the pressure assume a sequence according to the degree to which the activity of the medulla is impaired.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of impurities on the mechanical properties of gold was examined, and the results of the experiments showed that metals which diminish its tenacity and extensibility have high atomic volumes, while those which increase these properties have either the same atomic volume as gold or a lower one.
Abstract: In a previous paper published in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’ (1888, A, pp. 339—349), the effect of about 0·2 per cent, of impurities on the mechanical properties of gold was examined, the results of the experiments showing that metals which diminish its tenacity and extensibility have high atomic volumes, while those which increase these properties have either the same atomic volume as gold or a lower one.
TL;DR: Last year, through the kindness of Professor Lankester, I had the opportunity of spending several months—May to August—in Sicily, collecting the embryos and larvæ of Amphioxus, and since then I have been working continuously on the material I obtained in the laboratory of University College, under the direction of Professor Lanka.
Abstract: Last year, through the kindness of Professor Lankester, I had the opportunity of spending several months—May to August—in Sicily, collecting the embryos and larvæ of Amphioxus. Since then I have been working continuously on the material I obtained in the laboratory of University College, under the direction of Professor Lankester. The period of the development, to which Professor Lankester determined first of all to give attention, was that before which Hatschek’s wrell-known work stops short.
TL;DR: In this article, a metal sphere suspended bifilarly, and filled with various liquids, gave finite values to the slipping coefficients, i.e., 2·3534 mm and 0.3984 mm for water flowing past a copper surface.
Abstract: The experiments of Helmholtz and Piotrowski on the oscillations of a metal sphere suspended bifilarly, and filled with various liquids, gave finite values to the slipping coefficients. The inside of the sphere was gilded and polished, and the value obtained for the coefficient λ was, in the case of distilled water, 2·3534 mm. From some experiments of Girard on transpiration through copper tubes, Helmholtz deduces the value λ = 0·3984 mm. for water flowing past a copper surface.
TL;DR: It has been shown by the researches of numerous histologists, of whom Heitzmann and Frommann, and, in this country, Klein, must be reckoned the pioneers, that the protoplasm of many cells exhibits the appearance of a network containing an apparently homogeneous material in its meshes.
Abstract: It has been shown by the researches of numerous histologists, of whom Heitzmann and Frommann, and, in this country, Klein, must be reckoned the pioneers, that the protoplasm of many cells exhibits the appearance of a network containing an apparently homogeneous material in its meshes.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors made a complete investigation of the relation between the curves obtained and the amount of variation of the difference of potential of which they are the expression, but no complete investigation has been made of the relationship between these curves and the time at which the electrical changes in living tissues begin and end.
Abstract: In 1882 a paper by Professor Burdon Sanderson appeared in the 'Biologisches Centralblatt,’ in which an account was given of the employment of photography for the production by means of the capillary electrometer of records of the electrical phenomena accompanying the excitation of the leaf of Dionæa. Other physiologists have availed themselves of this method for the purpose of determining the times at which the electrical changes in living tissues begin and end, but no complete investigation has been made of the relation between the curves obtained and the amount of variation of the difference of potential of which they are the expression.
TL;DR: A perusal of the chapters devoted to the description of the mechanism of respiration in the admittedly best and most recent physiological text-books shows that there exists a very remarkable diversity of opinions on the very question, whether the larynx plays an active rôle during quiet respirationIn man or not.
Abstract: Although the laryngeal phenomena attending the act of respiration in man have not escaped the attention of physiologists and laryngologists, yet investigation on this point has been comparatively limited and nothing like unanimity of views has been obtained. On the contrary, a perusal of the chapters devoted to the description of the mechanism of respiration in the admittedly best and most recent physiological text-books shows that there exists a very remarkable diversity of opinions, not merely on details or on points of secondary importance, but on the very question, whether the larynx plays an active rôle during quiet respiration in man or not.
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that the impression in ink upon paper of each finger tip, contained on the average from twenty-five to thirty distinct points of reference, every one of which appeared to be absolutely persistent.
Abstract: Sufficient proof was adduced by me in a memoir read November 27, 1890, before the Royal Society (‘Phil. Trans.,’ B, 1891), of the extraordinary persistence of the papillary ridges on the inner surface of the hands throughout life. I t was shown that the impression in ink upon paper of each finger tip, contained on the average from twenty-five to thirty distinct points of reference, every one of which, with the rarest exception, appeared to be absolutely persistent.
TL;DR: In this paper, an electrodynamic action of the same type as that of a current for the electric displacement across the dielectric was proposed, in order to verify the principle that electrical currents always flow round complete circuits.
Abstract: The electrical ideas of Clerk Maxwell, which were cultivated partly in relation to mechanical models of electrodynamic action, led him to the general principle that electrical currents always flow round complete circuits. To verify this principle for the case of the current which charges a condenser, it was necessary to postulate an electrodynamic action of the same type as that of a current for the electric displacement across the dielectric, in which the excitation of the dielectric may he supposed, after Faraday, to consist.
TL;DR: The results obtained by Nuttall, Buchner, and Nissen have shown that the blood serum, independently of any cellular elements, has a certain power of killing bacteria.
Abstract: The results described in the present paper were arrived at by the author while trying to discover the nature of the substance to which the bacteria-killing powers of the blood serum were due. The results obtained by Nuttall, Buchner, and Nissen have shown that the blood serum, independently of any cellular elements, has a certain power of killing bacteria. The method used by these authors, and which I have applied to this research, is to mix a small quantity of a culture with a few cubic centimeters of blood serum.
TL;DR: In the ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ No. 273 (vol. 45, 1889, p. 18), a preliminary account of some of the experiments of which the results are given in detail are published.
Abstract: In the 'Proceedings of the Royal Society,' vol. 45, 1889, p. 18 (Meeting of November 1, 1888), we published a preliminary account of some of the experiments of which the results are now given in full detail. In that communication we stated that the object of our work then was to endeavour to ascertain the character of the excitatory processes occurring in nerve fibres, when, either directly (artificially) excited, or when in that state of functional activity, which is due to the passage of impulses along them from the central apparatus. The most important way in which such a method could be applied was obviously one which would involve the investigation of the excitatory changes occurring in the fibres of the spinal cord when the cortex cerebri is stimulated. We must at once assume that the motor side of the central nervous system is practically divisible into three elements:— 1. Cortical centres. 2. Efferent (pyramidal tract) fibres leading down through the internal capsule, corona radiata, and spinal cord. 3. Bulbo-spinal centres contained in the medulla and the spinal cord, and forming the well-known nuclei of the cranial and also of the spinal motor nerves. It had already been determined, both by direct observation and by the graphic method (1) that certain areas of the cortex were connected with definite movements of various parts of the body, and (2) that while the complete discharge of the cortical apparatus was followed by a very definite and characteristic series of contractions of the muscles in special relation with the particular point excited, the effectual removal of the cortical central mechanisn and subsequent excitation of the white fibres passing down through the internal capsule, &c., led to the production of only a portion of the effect previously obtained from the uninjured brain.
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that the particles when emitting light are not travelling in the direction of the discharge at the rate of more than a mile a second, proving at any rate th at the luminosity does'not consist of a wind of luminous particles travelling with the velocity of a discharge.
Abstract: Though the determination of the velocity of propagation of the luminosity which accompanies the electric discharge through gases might well be expected to throw considerable light on the means by which the discharge is effected, as far as I can find, no attempts seem to have been made in this direction since Wheatstone, in 1835, observed the appearance presented in a rotating mirror of the discharge through a vacuum tube 6 feet long; he concluded from his observations that the velocity with which the flash went through the tube could not have been less than 2 x 107. cm. per second. This very great velocity does not seem to be accompanied by a correspondingly large velocity of the luminous molecules, for von Jahn (Wiedemann’s ‘Annalen,’ vol. 8, 1879, p. 675) has shown that the lines of the spectrum of the gas in the discharge tube are not displaced by as much as 1/40 of the distance between the D lines when the line of sight is in the direction of the discharge tube. It follows from this, by Doppler’s principle, that the particles when emitting light are not travelling in the direction of the discharge at the rate of more than a mile a second, proving at any rate th at the luminosity does'not consist of a wind of luminous particles travelling with the velocity of the discharge.
TL;DR: The relation between the heat of fusion of a substance and its heat capacity in the liquid and solid condition was demonstrated by Person, in 1847 (see as mentioned in this paper for a discussion).
Abstract: The relations existing between the heat of fusion of a substance and its heat capacity in the liquid and solid condition were demonstrated by Person, in 1847 (‘Ann. Chim. Phys.’ (3), vol. 21, p. 315). He showed that the heat of fusion must diminish as the temperature is lowered, the decrease per degree being equal to the difference between the heat capacities of the liquid and solid, and that, therefore, there must be a certain temperature at which the heat of fusion will be nil, this temperature being given by t - l/C-c, in which t, is the melting point of the substance, l its heat of fusion at t, and C and c its heat capacity in the liquid and solid conditions respectively.
TL;DR: The fibres of the wing-muscles of most insects are made up of readily separable longitudinal elements, which are often called the "wing-fibrils", although several observers have remarked the existence of an apparently fine fibrillation in them.
Abstract: The fibres of the wing-muscles of most insects are made up of readily separable longitudinal elements, which are often called the “wing-fibrils,” although several observers have remarked the existence of an apparently fine fibrillation in them.
TL;DR: The general methods adopted in carrying oat the experiments detailed below were identical with those described in Part II, the weighed metals being fused together under cyanide of potassium, well intermixed by continued vigorous stirring, and poured into red-hot narrow clay test-tubes, which were then inserted inside thin iron protecting tubes, closed at the lower end, and immersed in a bath of molten lead, maintained at as nearly as possible a constant temperature by means of a series of Bunsen flames playing into the inter-space between the cylindrical iron vessel containing the lead and
Abstract: The general methods adopted in carrying oat the experiments detailed below were identical with those described in Part II, the weighed metals being fused together under cyanide of potassium, well intermixed by continued vigorous stirring, and poured into red-hot narrow clay test-tubes, which were then inserted inside thin iron protecting tubes, closed at the lower end, and immersed in a bath of molten lead, maintained at as nearly as possible a constant temperature by means of a series of Bunsen flames playing into the inter-space between the cylindrical iron vessel containing the lead and an outer concentric clay jacket.
TL;DR: In this article, a theory of the mode of deformation that takes place when a thin shell is vibrating was presented, based on the form of the potential energy function, obtained by a method adapted from that of Kirchhoff for plates.
Abstract: In a paper read before the Royal Society in February, 1888, and published in ‘ Phil. Trans.,’ A, of that year, I advanced a theory of the mode of deformation that takes place when a thin shell is vibrating. The theory was founded on the form of the potential energy function, obtained by a method adapted from that of Kirchhoff for plates. It appears that, in case there are no surface-stresses on the faces of the shell, this function consists of two terms, of which one contains a certain function W2 and the thickness 2h as factors, and the other contains a function W1 and h3 as factors. The term W3 depends entirely on quantities σ1, σ2, w, expressing the extension of the middle surface, while the form given for W1 contained only quantities expressing the changes of curvature. Some previous theories proceeded as if W1 alone occurred, and, in fact, this was the case with a paper by Lord Rayleigh in ‘Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society,’ vol. 13, 1882, on the “Infinitesimal Bending of Surfaces.of Revolution.”
TL;DR: In the absence of diurnal tides, a simple table of the mean fortnightly inequality in the height and interval after a lunar transit, supplemented by tables of corrections for the declinations and parallaxes of the disturbing bodies, can be found in this paper.
Abstract: At most places on the North Atlantic the prediction of high and low water is fairly easy, because there is hardly any diurnal tide. This abnormality makes it sufficient to have a table of the mean fortnightly inequality in the height and interval after lunar transit, supplemented by tables of corrections for the declinations and parallaxes of the disturbing bodies. But when there is a large diurnal inequality, as is commonly the case in other seas, the heights and intervals after the upper and lower lunar transits are widely different; the two halves of each lunation differ much in their characters, and the season of the year has great influence. Thus simple tables, such as are applicable in the absence of diurnal tide, are of no avail. The tidal information supplied by the Admiralty for such places, consists of rough means of the rise and interval at spring and neap, modified by the important warning that the tide is affected by diurnal inequality. Information of this kind affords scarcely any indication of the time and height of high and low water on any given day, and must, I should think, be almost useless