298 



THE OUTGO OF ENERGY 



made, the longitudinal surface will still be posi- 

 tive to the cross-section. 



Molecular Hypothesis. The fact that the 

 smallest possible muscle prism is still positive 

 on the longitudinal surface, and negative on the 

 cross-section, suggested to DuBois-Keymond that 

 muscle (and nerve) are composed of electrical 

 particles or molecules something like the mole- 

 cules of a magnet. A magnet has two poles, 

 and, however it may be divided, the pieces still 



Fig. 48. Scheme of the myomeres iu a parallel-fibred muacle (Rosenthal). 



possess a north and a south pole. The magnet is 

 therefore believed to be composed of molecules, 

 each possessing a north and a south pole. These 

 molecules lie with the north poles all pointing in 

 one direction, the south poles in the other. The 

 structure of muscle favors, in a measure, a simi- 

 lar hypothesis; for it is known that a striated 

 muscle consists of fibrillae, each of which is com- 

 posed of a row of particles arranged in quite 

 regular fashion. The electromotive molecules, or 



