episode_0139

Episode 139. The Discovery of Electricity (1)

****

As Istina opened the door to the lab and came in, she turned her head at the strange sound. There were a few frogs on one side of the lab.

Dig!

“What is a frog?”

Of course, it’s for experimental purposes. Last time, I tried to explain the principles of nerves to Istina and failed. So this is what I need.

“I’m going to experiment. Clean up quickly and come back.”

Istina put down her bag, put on her lab coat, and walked straight to the frog tank. Her eyes still looked puzzled.

****

We took the fish tank with the frogs and some experimental supplies and headed to the lab.

“So. What kind of experiment is it?”

“Remember what I said last time? Nerves are like wires that transmit information to muscles and other parts. You asked me what I meant?”

This is the solution.

Istina nodded.

“There used to be a senior named Galvani.”

“Senior?”

“Galvani discovered that when he hung a frog on a copper ring and cut the nerves in its legs with a zinc knife, the dead frog’s legs would move.”

“Yes?”

“I told you. If you cut a frog tied to a copper ring with a zinc knife, you can make the dead frog’s legs move.”

“How did you find that?”

“Well… … . That could be the case. That’s why it’s important to try various experiments.”

anyway.

“Yeah. Senior Galvani thought that there was a kind of mysterious energy inside the muscles. Galvani called it animal electricity. ”

“Aha. So you’re saying that the mysterious energy called animal electricity moves the frog’s muscles?”

“No way.”

What is the mysterious aura?

Galvani’s words were only half right.

“First of all, Galvani was half right and half wrong. Muscles and nerves of living things can transmit electrical signals as Galvani thought.”

“Yes.”

“But. The electricity is not stored in the muscles of a dead frog, but is generated by the potential difference between copper and zinc mentioned earlier. That is what affects the muscles of a freshly dead frog.”

A sigh and the sound of paper turning. Istina took out her notebook and wrote down in detail what I had said. She tilted her head.

“But, Professor. What is electricity?”

“That’s the problem.”

I put on my lab coat and caught a frog. I’ll explain in a moment.

I didn’t mean to kill it cruelly. I put some anesthetic on the back of the frog’s neck. After a few seconds, the frog passed out as if it were dead.

A frog climbed onto a small dissecting table.

“The important thing is this. Galvani thought that electricity was an inherent property of living things, while Volta believed that electricity was a property of the materials used in the experiment, unrelated to living things.”

“Yes.”

“That’s why Volta discovered electricity. He was studying whether this biological electricity really existed. We’re going to repeat their experiments.”

Istina closed her notebook.

“The seniors that the professor always mentions. Are you comparing me to something I don’t know, a joke, or an imaginary friend?”

All three are wrong.

“Let’s call it a metaphor.”

In conclusion, Volta and Galvani were both right and both wrong. However, at the time, Volta’s words were considered more correct.

The power that moves muscles is not electricity, but chemical power stored inside the muscles.

However, the signals that request movement from the muscles are transmitted electrically. When Galvani electrically stimulated the muscles, the muscles moved.

I cut the frog’s legs open.

Istina looked over her shoulder, intently observing the slowly disintegrating frog corpse.

“The frog’s heart is still beating.”

“Your muscles need to be fresh to function for a long time.”

After a while, I was able to carefully expose the frog’s sciatic nerve.

As Galvani had done before, we touched the sciatic nerve with a zinc rod and a copper rod –

The frog’s legs twitched.

Istina gave a small exclamation of admiration.

“That’s true… … . Is there a reason why it has to be copper and zinc and not other sticks?”

It’s complicated. It has to do with the potential difference of metals… … I honestly don’t know much about it.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, yes.”

It doesn’t end here. We’re not just figuring out how nerves work. We’re inventing electricity.

****

“What about the frog corpse?”

What should I do? Just leave it alone.

“Istina. We just found out experimentally that the interaction between copper and zinc can generate small electrical signals. And we found out that it has to do with nerves.”

“Oh, right.”

“What’s the next step? Logically.”

“I don’t know.”

Well, it doesn’t matter.

I placed the zinc and copper plates I had acquired a few days ago on the workbench. They are the materials for a voltaic cell.

“The method is simple. Just place salt-soaked cardboard between zinc plates and copper plates, and keep stacking them. The more you stack, the more electricity you can generate.”

“What is this?”

“Battery. It’s something that generates electricity.”

“When did you come up with this?”

Actually, there was no need to even invent it.

A battery of this level can be made by inserting a coin into a potato. This is just a larger version of the potato battery. It’s not complicated.

completion.

It didn’t take long to build a battery by stacking copper and zinc plates. Now, the next thing to do was to connect the wires to the voltaic cell.

In this world, from today on, they’ll call it the Asterix Battery. Anyway, we connected the wires to the positive poles of the battery and… … .

As I brought the two ends of the wire closer together, a faint blue light passed between the wires.

This is electricity.

Volta believed that the essence of electricity was what appeared between the two ends of this wire. He believed that electricity appeared at the contact between metals.

Volta thought that biological electricity did not exist. Faraday was the one who thought that various types of electricity, such as biological electricity and magnetic field electricity, were all essentially the same electromagnetic force.

I don’t remember that well. I’m a people expert, not an electrical expert.

“Can you see it with your eyes?”

“Yes. Copper is relatively reactive compared to zinc, so as it corrodes in salt water, energy flows through the wire.”

“That’s amazing.”

Anyway, let’s just look at the physiologically meaningful part. Galvani discovered that electrical stimulation moves the muscles of a dead frog, and Volta invented the battery based on this.

“Then, Professor. So, today’s conclusion is that the electricity from the machine moves the frog’s muscles?”

I nodded.

“Simply put. A small amount of electricity sends a command to the muscles to contract. The frog corpse works on the same principle.”

Istina brought two wires to the frog’s legs. The frog’s legs began to twitch at the small electric shock.

“That’s right! That’s what you meant by medical content. So, if you apply an electric shock to a living creature, can you possibly induce involuntary muscle contractions?”

Then it’s true. Would I lie?

Istina muttered for a long time.

As soon as she saw the battery, she immediately thought of making a torture device. Istina was truly an extraordinary talent. She was clearly a smart student.

“If electricity is applied to a living organism, it can cause involuntary muscle contraction. Since the principle of muscle contraction is electrical stimulation.”

That’s how a taser works.

Of course, there are much more productive uses that we should explore first. You’ve hit the nail on the head.

“Istina. You go and explain to Amy what you did today. I’m going to be studying this for a while. You need to know it properly.”

Of course, writing a thesis is a given.

After the announcement, I have to figure out a practical use for the voltaic cell. I would like to do it through my company, but I don’t know until then.

We cleaned up the lab.

The half-dismembered frog carcass was placed in a specimen bottle and placed on the desk shelf.

The invention of the battery and electricity will soon be announced to the academic world, and the repercussions will be quite large.

Strictly speaking, this is neither physiology nor medicine, so I will have to find a professor in the field who will publish a paper with me.

That won’t be difficult either.

The invention of electricity.

To be honest, it wasn’t planned, but it just happened. Not only will it change the history of imperial academia, but it might also find practical applications. Like wire communications.

It will be a study that will change the history of the empire.

****

That afternoon.

Mint came to the lab. Mint jumped up and sat down on the lab sofa.

“There’s a lot of paper on the desk today, teacher.”

“Ah. I haven’t organized it yet.”

“Are you busy?”

The princess was sitting on the sofa in the lab as usual. Mint looked at the messy desk and the half-opened frog specimen.

“I did some great research today.”

“What is it? Is it some new medicine?”

“No. This time, I didn’t make a potion. I invented a machine that can generate electricity. This could be useful.”

Mint tilted her head.

“But, sir. If you have created a new invention that could be helpful to the empire, shouldn’t you take it to the imperial palace and show it off?”