ld war.Another problem was the action potential's uncompromising nature; it iseither present at full strength or absent altogether, never anythingin-between. Such all-or-nothing behaviour is a nightmare for scientists. Itmeans that varying the stimulus for an action potential causes no variationin the response. It is from studying such variations that mechanisms arenormally revealed.Throughout the 1930s Dr Hodgkin had been exploring electrical conduction innerves with some success, using many of the tools that he and his studentDr Huxley were to exploit in their classic experiment. Many of these camefrom America, where there were engineers skilled in producing the sensitiveelectronic apparatus that was needed. In Cambridge, where Dr Hodgkin and DrHuxley had fellowships, physiologists had to build their own apparatus withcomponents bought from a local wireless shop. Another American import wasthe object of study: giant nerve-fibres found in squid, as much as 40 timeslarger than the largest vertebrate nerves, and thus far easier to dissect.Despite these tools, though, the nature of the nerve proved elusive.The difference between Dr Hodgkin's pre- and post-war work is simple: thewar. Like other scientists, Dr Hodgkin and Dr Huxley broke off theirresearch when Britain declared war on Germany. Though train-ed asphysiologists, they were put to work in fields with a direct bearing on thewar effort: Dr Hodgkin worked on radar, Dr Huxley developed sights fornaval gu*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************...
