The earliest and most general tendency in regard to the theory of
smell was to regard it as a kind of chemical sense directly
stimulated by minute particles of solid substance. A vibratory
theory of smell, however, making it somewhat analogous to
hearing, easily presents itself. When I first began the study of
physiology in 1881, a speculation of this kind presented itself
to my mind. Long before Philipp von Walther, a professor at
Landshut, had put forward a dynamic theory of olfaction
(_Physiologie des Menschen_, 1807-8, vol. ii, p. 278). "It is a
purely dynamic operation of the odorous substance in the
olfactory organ," he stated. Odor is conveyed by the air, he
believed, in the same way as heat. It must be added that his
reasons for this theory will not always bear examination. More
recently a similar theory has been seriously put forward in
various quarters. Sir William Ramsay tentatively suggested such a
theory (_Nature_, vol. xxv, p. 187) in analogy with light and
sound. Haycraft (_Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh_,
1883-87, and _Brain_, 1887-88), largely starting from
Mendelieff's law of periodicity, similarly sought to bring smell
into line with the higher senses, arguing that molecules with the
same vibration have the same smell.
Pages:
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119