﻿160 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADE;mY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  G 
  

  

  may 
  throw 
  light 
  upon 
  certain 
  mysteries 
  of 
  modern 
  physics, 
  such 
  as 
  

   the 
  quantum 
  theory 
  of 
  energy 
  transfer. 
  This 
  conception 
  of 
  atoms 
  of 
  

   activity 
  which 
  seems 
  absolutely 
  essential 
  to 
  the 
  explanation 
  of 
  known 
  

   laws 
  of 
  the 
  emission 
  and 
  absorption 
  of 
  radiant 
  energy 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  

   squarely 
  in 
  conflict 
  with 
  phenomena 
  of 
  the 
  interference 
  type 
  upon 
  

   which 
  the 
  continuous 
  wave 
  hypothesis 
  was 
  founded.^ 
  Is 
  it 
  not 
  possible 
  

   that 
  this 
  quantum 
  conception 
  — 
  like 
  the 
  irrationality 
  of 
  t 
  — 
  is 
  attrib- 
  

   utable 
  to 
  an 
  artificial 
  incommensurability 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  concepts 
  

   of 
  physics 
  and 
  the 
  properties 
  of 
  the 
  real 
  universe? 
  An 
  inkling 
  as 
  

   to 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  this 
  incommensurability 
  is 
  given 
  by 
  our 
  considera- 
  

   tions 
  regarding 
  the 
  reality 
  of 
  psychical 
  synthesis. 
  If 
  the 
  physicist 
  

   overestimates 
  the 
  discreteness 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  universe, 
  

   he 
  may 
  find 
  it 
  necessary 
  to 
  compensate 
  for 
  this 
  by 
  overestimating 
  

   the 
  discreteness 
  of 
  the 
  changes 
  which 
  occur 
  within 
  or 
  between 
  them. 
  

   His 
  changes 
  are 
  fundamentally 
  expressed 
  as 
  ratios 
  of 
  spaces 
  to 
  times 
  

   and 
  an 
  erroneous 
  factor 
  in 
  the 
  structural 
  numerator 
  of 
  this 
  ratio 
  could 
  

   therefore 
  be 
  canceled 
  in 
  its 
  influence 
  upon 
  conclusions 
  by 
  an 
  equivalent, 
  

   erroneous 
  factor 
  in 
  the 
  temporal 
  denominator. 
  We 
  might 
  explain 
  

   the 
  introduction 
  of 
  this 
  latter 
  factor 
  by 
  the 
  hypothesis 
  that 
  the 
  local 
  

   time 
  of 
  any 
  single 
  radiator 
  is 
  atomic 
  or 
  possessed 
  of 
  a 
  cell 
  structure 
  

   so 
  that 
  successively 
  emitted 
  quanta, 
  although 
  distributed 
  at 
  random 
  

   within 
  these 
  cells 
  would 
  be 
  held 
  in 
  constant 
  phase 
  from 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  

   view 
  of 
  a 
  receiver, 
  by 
  always 
  beginning 
  at 
  the 
  front 
  end 
  of 
  a 
  given 
  

   time 
  cell, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  average 
  filling 
  large 
  blocks 
  of 
  such 
  cells 
  homo- 
  

   geneously. 
  But 
  this 
  would 
  merely 
  be 
  another 
  outrage 
  to 
  our 
  common 
  

   sense 
  ideas 
  and 
  a 
  further 
  indication 
  of 
  the 
  unreality 
  of 
  the 
  physicist's 
  

   schema. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  along 
  similar 
  lines, 
  that 
  the 
  psychical 
  monist 
  rationalizes 
  the 
  

   principle 
  of 
  relativity. 
  This 
  principle 
  immolates 
  the 
  stability 
  of 
  

   empty 
  space 
  and 
  time 
  to 
  the 
  constancy 
  of 
  the 
  velocity 
  of 
  light 
  under 
  

   all 
  conditions. 
  But 
  the 
  psychical 
  monist 
  sees 
  at 
  once 
  that 
  empty 
  

   space 
  and 
  empty 
  time 
  have 
  no 
  objective 
  meaning 
  whatsoever. 
  In 
  

   the 
  psychical 
  universe, 
  space 
  has 
  significance 
  only 
  for 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  

   combination 
  of 
  concrete 
  psychical 
  units. 
  Where 
  such 
  concrete 
  units 
  

   are 
  absent 
  there 
  can 
  be 
  no 
  form 
  of 
  combination 
  and 
  hence 
  only 
  non- 
  

  

  1 
  This 
  paragraph 
  was 
  written 
  from 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  view 
  of 
  J. 
  J. 
  Thomson's 
  "pulse 
  theory" 
  

   which 
  renders 
  understandable 
  the 
  mechanism 
  of 
  emission 
  and 
  absorption 
  of 
  quanta. 
  The 
  

   more 
  current 
  idea 
  of 
  a 
  quantum 
  as 
  a 
  short 
  train 
  of 
  continuous 
  waves 
  fits 
  in 
  better 
  with 
  

   interference 
  phenomena, 
  but 
  in 
  doing 
  so 
  simply 
  places 
  the 
  parado.x 
  in 
  a 
  different 
  place, 
  in 
  

   the 
  processes 
  of 
  emission 
  and 
  absorption. 
  

  

  