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The Use of Ionizing Rays as a Mammalian Olfactory Stimulus

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Olfaction

Part of the book series: Handbook of Sensory Physiology ((1730,volume 4 / 1))

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Abstract

Originally labelled “X” for unknown, ionizing rays were often described as an energy form without stimulus properties for living organisms, presumably because of their position on the electromagnetic spectrum far beyond the violet end of that narrow segment visible to the human eye. However, since the announcement of Roentgen’s discovery of X-rays in 1895, and discovery of radium by the Curies several years later, a wide variety of biological observations have revealed that this energy form has a host of stimulating properties. The visibility of the rays was soon discovered and then rediscovered repeatedly in the fact of widespread belief in the invisibility of the mysterious “X”-rays. The extreme radiosensitivity of the human eye is illustrated by a recent report describing perception of single cosmic meson particles by dark adapted subjects (D’Arcy and Porter, 1962).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stony Brook, New York, USA

    John Garcia

  2. Los Angeles, California, USA

    Robert A. Koelling

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  1. John Garcia
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  2. Robert A. Koelling
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Lloyd M. Beidler

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© 1971 Springer-Verlag, Berlin · Heidelberg

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Garcia, J., Koelling, R.A. (1971). The Use of Ionizing Rays as a Mammalian Olfactory Stimulus. In: Beidler, L.M. (eds) Olfaction. Handbook of Sensory Physiology, vol 4 / 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-65126-7_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-65126-7_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-65128-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-65126-7

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