THE DEATH WAVE IN NITELLA : III. TRANSMISSION

Cutting a cell of Nitella sets up a series of rapid electrical responses, transmitted at a rate too rapid to be measured by means of our records. These are followed by slower responses whose speed falls off as the distance from the cut increases, as though they were caused by a mechanical disturbance whose intensity falls off as it travels.

The faster responses seem to be due to the motion of sap past protoplasmic surfaces which have suffered little or no alteration (they seem to be similar to the electrical changes following a blow on the end of a soft rubber tube containing Ag-AgCl electrodes). The slower responses appear to be due to alterations in the protoplasm and are usually irreversible.