342 Assimilation 



to the amount of electro-motive force which is directly 

 dependent upon the difference in charge between the two 

 accumulators existing at any moment, if for example, it 

 represents a definite fraction of the latter, and thereby 

 will gradually decrease in amount as this difference be- 

 tween the two charges becomes less with each oscillation, 

 then both the amount of this difference and that of the 

 induced electro-motive force will sink to nothing after a 

 certain period of time, theoretically infinitely long, prac- 

 tically more or less short, which we can call the period of 

 reconstitution or of replacement of material consumed. 



As soon as the charges of the two accumulators have 

 become equal there will take place no more provocation 

 of oscillating currents and the total mass of the two ac- 

 cumulators whose increase had become always smaller 

 and smaller will now not increase any further at all. 



But if at this instant either of the two accumulators, 

 suddenly becoming inserted, aside from its own oscillat- 

 ing circuit, into another circuit, discharges into the latter 

 wholly or partially, then the difference between the re- 

 spective charges of the two accumulators will again be 

 present and the former process of oscillation will begin 

 again. And this will result again in the increase of the 

 total mass of the two accumulators above the amount 

 which it had already reached before this last discharge. 

 We can compare this discharge of one of the two accumu- 

 lators outside the circuit of oscillation with the nervous 

 nuclear discharge outside the nucleus into its surrounding 

 protoplasm or its environment in general, that is with the 

 biological functional excitation which produces the same 

 trophic effect. 



Further if at the moment when the two accumulators 

 have arrived at the condition of equality between their 



