LABILITY AND ENERGY IN RELATION TO PROTOPLASM. 395 



the group whereby the opposite form of the group becomes pre- 

 ferable ; and conversely, that when the hydrogen atom has 

 moved back past the mean position and approximated itself to 

 the oxygen atom, the opposite phase now becomes superiorily 

 attractive ? That would seem to be implied, for in that way only 

 would be rendered possible the persistence in the group of an 

 oscillatory movement whereby kinetic energy is preserved in the 

 form of continuous atomic motion. But if that is Dr. LOEW'S 

 view, he has not expressed it clearly ; nor does he anywhere 

 indicate his conception of the mechanism by which this changing 

 play of the intramolecular forces may be supposed to be kept up. 

 To return to our original rough analogy, unless something can be 

 imagined more or less similar in its mode of working to the 

 alternate play of electric and mechanical stresses in the faradic 

 battery, the hypothesis of the oscillating atom in the labile group 

 seems difficult to maintain." 



I do not undervalue this criticism, for even specialists in 

 molecular science have not yet penetrated the mysteries of 

 lability of organic compounds. Thus, Grant Allen declares : n ' 

 " Atomic motion may be separative as in decomposition, or 

 aggregative as in the act of combining, the continuous or neutral 

 stage is not at present known though there is reason to think that 

 it exists." " Atomic motion is not known to have any continuous 

 form analogous to the orbital motion of a planet, the spinning of 

 a top, or the regular vibration of heat." Osizvald argues:' 2 ' 

 " Living organisms behave like katalytically acting substances. <: " 

 The problem, however, of the mode of action of a katalytic sub- 

 stance is not yet solved. A start is made by the recognition 

 that hydrogen ions can, in proportion to their number, accelerate 

 certain reactions. It is physical chemistry to which we must 

 look to throw a light upon the riddle of life." In a later article, 

 however, Ostwald declares that katalytic actions could only be 

 expected to receive explanation by new principles which lay 

 beyond the laws of energy. (4) Before I enter upon a further 



(1) Force and Energy, Cbapt. VI and VJI. 



(2) Chem. Centr.-Bl. 1894 I. p. 4. 



(3) This analogy was first recognised more than forty years ago by the physiologists 

 Ludwig and Lehmann. Cf. Lehmann, Lehrb. der physiolog. Chem. 1853. 



(4) Aula 1895, Nr. I. To be sure, nothing can be more hopeless than to search for 

 Ostwald 1 s " Keue Principien, welc/ie fiber das Energiegesetz hinaus gehen .' " 



