EFFECT OF VARIATIONS IN SOLAR ACTIVITY ON THE NUMBER OF WHITE BLOOD CELLS The first attempts at correlating variations in solar activity with certain biological phenomena were made in the nineteenth century (Herschel, Jevons, Shvedov).
However, the first comprehensive formulation of the relationship between solar outbursts and the living organism was published by the young Russian scientist, A. L.Chizhevskii, in 1915. He clearly demonstrated the close correlation of the 11-year solar cycle with numerous biological phenomena. Thorough research on this subject enabled him to publish a detailed work in 1918 partially in Russian and partially in other languages. This was followed by his medicostatistical and experimental investigations in the field of cosmic microbiology and cosmic epidemiology. These investigations were published in medical journals in 1927-1929, edited by Prof. Semashko. Chizhevskii's monograph on the subject was published in Moscow in 1930.
In 1926, Chizhevskii studied the effects of cosmic radiation on bacterial virulence and on tissue growth, and published his results in French and in English. This was the first work on the subject in the world literature.
In 1928, Chizhevskii delivered a lecture at the Academy of Sciences in Paris on the effect of specific solar radiation (Z-radiation)* on the activity of the human nervous system, and on serious human diseases related to changes in this system (mainly neuropsychic and cardiac diseases). In 1929-1930 Chizhevskii's works in cosmic biology, microbiology, epide miology, and medicine were published in many languages. In 1938 the Academy of Medical Sciences in Paris published Chizhevskii's work (edited by Laignel-Lavastine, member of the Academy).** Thus, priority of the USSR in this field was established.
Under the influence of these investigations several valuable researches were carried out in those years by the Soviet physicians Sadov, Ivashentsov, Ivanchenko, and Vel'khover, the geophysicist Shostakovich, and others.
Tsiolkovskii was greatly impressed by Chizhevskii's work, and fully supported his research in a special article published in 1924. Studies in this important field only began outside the USSR in the 1940's (Budai, T.
and B. Dull, Regnault, de Rudder, Bach and Schluck, Grayman, Takata and Murazugi, and others). Subsequently, this subject attracted the atten tion of Poumelleux and Viard, Giordano, Becker and Fering; in the USSR the subject was studied by Shcherbinovskii, Shul'ts, and others.
Of exceptional interest is the research carried out by Piccardi who succeeded in correlating fluctuations in the precipitation and coagulation of colloidal solutions with the variations in solar activity. Piccardi' s classical diagram (1958) [see p. 310] clearly shows a relationship between precipitation and the sunspot number in periods of decreasing and increasing solar activity. These variations in the course of chemical processes are known as Piccardi's chemical tests. At the present time, investigations of this problem are being conducted under the guidance of International Chemical Tests Committee organized in 1957.
The effect of solar factors on blood coagulation was thoroughly investi gated by Caroli (1950), who revealed the singular role of solar flares in this connection, and established that fibrinolysis is enhanced twenty-four hours before a solar flare and reaches a maximum two days after it. According toA.I.Ol' (Ohl) (1954) the particles are emitted by chromo spheric flares at a velocity exceeding 1000km/sec, and require approxi mately two days to reach the Earth's surface.
Burkard (1955) recorded a correlation with the magnetic variations in an unshielded room, but the correlation could not be detected in a copper shielded room. Becker (1955) reported that in ordinary unshielded laboratories the reactions in colloid systems (with activated water) were in phase with solar (chromospheric) flares of the second and third degree.