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 
