AND PERSONALITY 



zero temperature and in absolute darkness. From this low 

 level of temperature, with each degree of rise a certain 

 increasing rate of chemical disintegration follows to in- 

 stantaneous oxidation or explosion. 



This corresponds to the changes in metabolism that have 

 been observed in patients who have been subjected to 

 artificial fever. Likewise it corresponds to the changes that 

 occur in a mass of nitrocellulose films or in such a mass of 

 protoplasm as an elephant, a horse, a plant, or a tree, in all 

 of which, under normal conditions, a continuous disintegra- 

 tion takes place. This continuous disintegration is attended 

 by the production of heat. Van't HofPs law of chemical 

 reaction, that a rise of iC. in temperature speeds the 

 chemical reaction 10 per cent, applies to living and non- 

 living systems alike. According to A. V. Hill, in the case of 

 nitrocellulose this increase in speed may be four times as 

 great as is expressed by van't Hoff's law. If the heat loss is 

 insufficient to balance the heat gain and if heat is increased 

 continuously, a spontaneous explosion becomes a certainty 

 in the case of the nitroexplosives, and heatstroke becomes 

 a certainty in the case of animals. 



Obviously, since protoplasm contains a nitrogen fraction 

 and is in continuous disintegration, there must be a uni- 

 versal ceiling of temperature for plants and animals above 

 which heatstroke takes place, just as there is a universal 

 ceiling of temperature in nitroexplosives above which spon- 

 taneous combustion takes place. 



If protoplasm consisted of carbon compounds only, such 

 as starch, cellulose, and fats, the temperature would be 

 safe at almost any range of heat, and heatstroke would 

 occur only at kindling temperature. But animals con- 

 structed of such protoplasm would be as immobile as 

 marble statues. 



The extreme sensitivity and mobility of animals are due 

 to the nitrogen compounds in chemical combination with 

 the carbon compounds. It is the nitrogen fraction in proto- 



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