[25] Jost—Ibid—p. 480.
XXXVIII.—RESPONSE OF PLANTS TO WIRELESS
STIMULATION
By
Sir J. C. Bose,
Assisted by
Guruprasanna Das.
A growing plant bends towards light, and this is true not only of the main stem but also of its branches and attached leaves and leaflets. Light affects growth, the effect being modified by the intensity of radiation. Strong stimulus of light causes a diminution of the rate of growth, but very feeble stimulus induces an acceleration. The tropic effect is very strong in the ultra-violet region of the spectrum with its extremely short wave length, but the effect declines practically to zero as we move towards the less refrangible rays—the yellow and the red with their comparatively long wave length. As we proceed beyond the infra-red region, we come across the vast range of electric radiation, the wave lengths of which vary from 0·6 cm., the shortest wave I have been able to produce, to others which may be miles in length. There thus arises the very interesting question, whether plants perceive and respond to the long ether waves including those employed in signalling through space.
At first sight this would appear to be very unlikely; for the most effective rays are in the ultra-violet region with wave length as short as 20 × 10-6 cm.; but with electric waves used in wireless signalling we have to deal with waves 50 million times as long. The perceptive power of our retina is confined within the very narrow range of a single octave, the wave lengths of which lie between 70 × 10-6 cm. and 35 × 10-6 cm. It is difficult to imagine that plants could perceive radiations so widely separated from each other as the visible light and the invisible electric radiation.
But the subject assumes a different aspect, when we take into consideration the total effect of radiation on the plant. Light induces two different effects which may broadly be distinguished as external and internal. The former gives rise to movement; the latter finds no outward manifestation, but consists of an 'up' or assimilatory chemical change, with concomitant increase of potential energy. Of the two reactions then, one is dynamic attended by dissimilatory 'down' change; the other is potential, associated with the opposite 'up' change. In reality the two effects take place simultaneously; but one of these becomes predominant under definite conditions.
The modifying condition is the quality of light; with reference to this I quote the following from Pfeffer: "So far as is at present known, the action of different rays of the spectrum gives similar curves in regard to heliotropic and phototactic movements, to protoplasmic streaming and movements of the chloroplastids as well as the photonastic movements produced by growth or by changes of turgor. On the other hand, it is the less refrangible rays which are most active in photo-synthesis."[26] The dynamic and potential manifestations are thus seen to be complementary to each other, the rays which induce photo-synthesis being relatively ineffective for tropic reaction and vice versâ.
Returning to the action of electric waves, since they exert no photo-synthetic action they might conceivably induce the complementary tropic effect. These considerations led me to the investigation of the subject fourteen years ago, and my results showed that very short electric waves induce a retardation of rate of growth; they also produce responsive movements of the leaf of Mimosa, when the plant was in a highly sensitive condition.[27] The energy of the short electric waves is very feeble, and undergoes great diminution at a distance; hence the necessity of employment of a specimen of plant in a highly sensitive condition.