10. Effect of Stimulation by Light balanced by Mechanical Stimulation
I have hitherto spoken of the similarities of the radiation and mechanical strains, but have not yet said anything about their mutual relation.
It is known that in cases where electric radiation produces an increase of conductivity, mechanical vibration produces an opposite effect, i.e., an increase of resistance. It thus appeared that two opposite molecular effects were produced by the two different modes of stimulation.
In verification of this I investigated the effects of light and mechanical vibration in inducing electromotive variation in a strain cell. For this purpose I took a tin cell, and subjected one of the wires to the action of light and mechanical vibration alternately. The upper curve of fig. 47 shows the effect of light of
Fig. 47. Effect of light and torsional vibration on a Tin cell. Light makes the acted wire cuproid, mechanical vibration makes it zincoid.
a given intensity. It will be noticed that light makes the acted wire cuproid. But the action of mechanical vibration (see lower curve in same figure) makes the acted wire zincoid, and after several trials I found that a vibration with an amplitude of 3° produced a series of
