8. Miscellaneous Observations 



In this chapter I will briefly describe a few observations which 

 seemed not to be without interest though their connection with the 

 main theme of this book was not evident in all. 



NARCOSIS 



Since Overton proposed his theory, narcosis has occupied many 

 research workers. Most of them came up with a new theory of 

 their own. This recurrent production of theories shows that none 

 of them has found general acceptance and we still do not know 

 what narcosis is. If our theory of £* is correct then it can be ex- 

 pected to make diverse old unsolved problems appear in a new 

 light and so we may ask whether it has anything to suggest about 

 narcosis.'^ 



A water}^ acrid ine orange solution (10~* AI) shows under the 

 UV lamp a greenish-yellow fluorescence. If frozen, the place of 

 fluorescence is taken by a very weak brownish phosphorescence. 

 Similarly to the case of rhodamin, this phosphorescence can be in- 

 creased by added substances to a vivid red light emission. No long- 

 lived phosphorescence can be observed in this system in the slow 

 moving phosphoroscope. 



If instead of pure water we dissolve the dye in a saturated watery 

 solution of cortisone we not only find the weak phosphorescence 

 moderately increased but find its lifetime greatly lengthened. The 

 test tube appears strongly luminescent in the slow moving phos- 

 phoroscope or shows a strong afterglow if its illumination is sud- 

 denly disconnected. The interaction of water and dye has thus been 

 modified by the sterin which was present in a very low concentra- 

 tion, cortisone being but slightly soluble in water (6.5 X 'i-O'^ M). 

 There could hardly have been a direct interaction between dye and 



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