45

The History of Bioelectromagnetism

 

In 1908, Oliver Joseph Lodge (1851–1940), a British physicist and inventor, Principal of the University

of Birmingham, and his son, Lionel Lodge (1883–1948), the founder of the Lodge Fume Deposit Company

(now, Lodge Copttrell Ltd.), with help from J. E. Newman and R. Romford, repeated the study of the dis­

charge of the electricity on plants made by Lemström (Lodge, 1908). Tin wires were connected to a high

voltage generator of a hundred thousand volts. Te wires were supported on posts and under, the experi­

mental area was of about 40 acres, 20 of which were electrifed with a wire network 15 feet above ground.

As preliminary results, they summarized the results of the electrifed treatment compared with the

non-electrifed treatment. Te product (ear and straw etc.) of electrifed plants such as wheat was better

than that of the non-electrifed. Oliver Lodge was known as a person who developed the frst radio wave

detector called coherer. Te coherer was the frst radio reliever, a primitive form of radio signal detec­

tor. During the 1900s–1930s, in England an organized committee investigated the efects of the static

electric feld on plant, later called “electro-culture” (Blackman, 1924a, b; Briggs et al., 1926). Vernon

Herbert Blackman (1872–1967) and his co-workers at the Imperial College of London reported using an

aerial system similar to that of Lemström, with voltage gradients of 20–40 kV/m, the increase of about

50% for several plants. A current of 10⁻¹¹~10⁻⁸ A per plant stimulated growth. Using wheat, barley, and

oats, they performed 18 feld trials, but only 14 gave a signifcant increase in dry weight. Blackman also

noticed no signifcant changes in soil nitrogen afer the application of electric felds to oats. However, it

was impossible to reach defnite conclusion. From the USA, Lyman James Briggs (1874–1963), physicist,

Ofce of Biophysical Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry, and his co-workers performed a series of

experiments over a period of 19 years (Briggs et al., 1926). Teir data showed no increased growth caused

by electricity (Lund, 1947). Briggs pointed out that there are several uncontrolled factors, such as the

variations of soil, moisture, temperature, and light. Tese factors vary from experiment to experiment,

even within the same experiments.

As for Japanese research, Motoharu Shibusawa (1876–1975), professor at the Tokyo Imperial

University, and his co-workers reviewed the results of Lemström’s research, and studied the efects of

electric discharges on the rate of growth in plants in 1927 (Shibusawa and Shibata, 1927; Shibusawa,

1963). Tey conducted their experiments in a greenhouse and applied three kinds of currents: 21 kV

(50 Hz), 10–15 kV (DC), and 13 kV (130 kHz) to various plants (Figure 2.9). As a result, they found that

(1) two experiments with buckwheat showed an average yield increase amounting to 9.8% and 8.0%,

respectively, for the electrifed samples. (2) Te frst experiments did not show diferences between the

electrifed and control plants. In the case of tobacco plants, the dry weight increased 21.7% compared to

the controls. Tey concluded that further experiments are needed.

Trough electrical treatment, “electro-culture” was used to accelerate growth rates, increase yields

of plants, and improve the quality of crops. Te electrical treatment includes the setup of the electrifed

wire network with DC and AC voltages over the plants and the application of an electric current through

the soil. Although there had been many experiments, the benefcial efects of the electrical treatment

in the electro-culture were still controversial. Due to this controversy and the lack of economical merits,

the electro-culture was discontinued in the 1930s.

Apart from large-scale benefcial studies of the electricity in horticulture and agriculture, Lawrence

E. Murr, the Pennsylvania State University, investigated the lethal efects of electric felds on plants

from the point of view of plant physiology (Murr, 1963, 1964a, b, 1965, 1966). He conducted studies on

the efects of electrostatic felds on parameters such as plant’s germination, growth, and yield; plant

and leaf damages; and metabolism. Te feld strength varied between 0.25 and 500 kV/m. He observed

changes in plant morphology such as leaf tip burning and discoloration at high electrostatic felds. Murr

studied the efects of high electric felds on leaves of orchard grass and reported burning of their leaf

tips. Murr included the efect of corona current and suggested that an over-respiration process was

causing the burning. From the point of view of plant physiology, Murr started a series of experiments

on the efects of electrostatic felds on plants. From the results of these experiments, he suggested the

concept of “lethal electrotropsim.” In his experiment, the electric feld was generated by two aluminum

lattice electrodes, and a pot with orchard grass seedlings was fxed to the lower electrode, with the upper