Nexus - 0603 - New Times Magazine-pages

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NEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCE them with a microscope and observed that either mad or possessed, and by the year's Sandwich, had successfully repeated some the smaller ones appeared to have only six end he had been damned from one end of _ of his experiments but had used even more legs, the larger ones eight. England to the other. He was frequently _ stringent precautions to prevent contamina- Crosse was unsure exactly what he had insulted, and many unkindly referred to _ tion. discovered: him as "a blasphemer" and "a reviler of our Before commencing work, Weeks baked These insects are pronounced to be of holy religion", while, conversely, a very all his equipment in an oven at high tem- the genus Acarus, but there appears to small number hailed him as "a modern _ peratures, used only distilled water, filled bea difference of opinion as to Prometheus". his receivers over mercury troughs using whether they are of a known species; Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, had "manufactured air" (oxygen), and even some assert that they are not. been released nearly 20 years earlier, and _ heated his silicate solutions strongly. After Although an amateur, Crosse was a year and a half of electrification, the no fool and began to suspect that his Acari made their appearance. Control equipment had somehow become experiments, using everything except contaminated with the eggs of ordi- electricity, always failed; no Acari nary Acari. After a thorough exam- appeared. ination of his equipment and the Some days afterwards. Weeks submitted a summary of his room, Crosse was satisfied that . ’ results to the Electrical Society, but, as there could have been no contami- these filaments become legs it appears now, even less is known nation from any source, either air- and bristles and a perfect about this amateur than is known borne or otherwise. However, being . . about Crosse. the keen and conscientious investi- Acarus electricus Is the result. Somewhat heartened, Crosse returned to his work with renewed vigour. Becoming more innovative, he dispensed with the electrified problem. porous stone and began using glass Crosse by now had lost interest in cylinders or tubes filled with concen- his original experiments of generating crys- | Crosse's detractors now compared him to trated solutions of copper nitrate, copper tals, and began preparations to conduct fur- the book's mad scientist who managed to sulphate and zinc sulphate. The Acari gator that he was, he determined in future to take steps to ensure that contamination would never be a ther experimentation in this new, exciting _ "electrically create life". again made their appearance, though this field. Somewhat unnerved at this personal _ time at the edge and two inches below the In that same year, Crosse wrote two form of attack, Crosse wrote to a colleague fluid surface. Remarkably, he found that papers on his experiments. One was pub- in complaint: after they emerged from the solution, if by lished in Transactions of the London I met with so much virulence and accident they fell back into the liquid they Electrical Society (1838), and the other in abuse...in consequence of the experi - were "destroyed". Annals of Electricity (Oct 1836—Oct 1837). ments that it seemed as if it were a Now this is very intriguing. Zinc sul- As news of his discovery spread, the crime to have made them." phate, like all zinc compounds, is very poi- local people, mostly simple villagers and Crosse was relieved when he heard that sonous, and copper sulphate and copper farm folk, were convinced that Crosse was another amateur, a Mr Weeks from __ nitrate are used in insecticides. Apparently the Acari womb is also the Acari tomb! It | seems incredible that they are born in this fluid and yet cannot return to it! Crosse next used an even stronger sub- stance, hydrofluoric acid—an acid so U : ; : : cn on wee han BANK Oe strong it was often stored in wax-lined bot- fos * Ss tles because of its tendency to dissolve You Buy One, PuT IT on, ‘ : vou Wie, | \ glass. A small piece of quartz was immersed in the acid which contained sili- VIRTUAL REALITY | ca in solution (H2SiFs) to a depth of two inches. This quartz was kept "negatively D Ee Mi Cc A S \ electrified" and, after a period of more than 12 months, three Acari became visible on a the piece of quartz. Crosse's next experiment required the SN | use of a hot silicate solution, prepared the same as for the first experiment. This time - he used an hermetically sealed vessel. 2 Upon connecting up the battery, he noticed that oxygen and hydrogen gases were being ex liberated, and on the 140th day he saw one of the tiny creatures crawling about within Some days afterwards, these filaments become legs and bristles and a perfect Acarus electricus is the result. _—_ I KNow You THANK You fee CAr'T SEE THEM BuT once “a i VIRTUAL REALITY A | ey DEVICES ae Sa 60 = NEXUS APRIL — MAY 1999