Abstract
THE liberation of electricity during certain reactions of organic compounds has been well established in previous investigations.* In the fermentation of cane sugar by yeast, it was shown that the amount of electricity liberated is proportional to the temperature and concentration of the sugar solution and to the number of active yeast cells, and is only liberated under conditions favourable to the growth of the yeast. It was also demonstrated that electricity is liberated during the action of diastase and invertase and during the decomposition of organic matter by bacteria. It is suggested that the apparatus employed might be termed a ‘fermentation cell’.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Potter, Proc. Roy. Soc., B, vol. 84; 1911: Proc. Roy. Soc., A, vol. 91; 1915: Zentralbl. f. Bakt., Abt. 11, Bd. 78; 1929: British Med. Jour., Oct. 29, 1921.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
POTTER, M. Measurement of the Electricity Liberated during the Downgrade Reactions of Organic Compounds. Nature 127, 554–555 (1931). https://doi.org/10.1038/127554a0
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/127554a0
This article is cited by
-
Metabolic oxidation and radiation
Protoplasma (1934)
-
Measurement of the Electricity liberated during Downgrade Reactions of Organic Compounds
Nature (1932)
