Machine-Made
Potencies History
Vergleich: Siehe: Homoeopathie + Mitteln
+Pflanzen comparison
ethanolic tincture and trituration of fresh plant material. (Dellmour, 1994)
[Robert Muentz]
Since homoeopathy was developed by H. hardly anything has changed in
principle. The Law of Similars, the development of remedies based upon healthy
people and the Theory of Dosage have remained unchanged and still provide the
basis of the therapy. However, homoeopathy has been extended by the use of
remedies with degrees of dilution exceeding H.’s by far. No remedy higher than
C30 has been found in H.’s estate.
Even though he always spoke of remedies potentized up to C30, he did not
rule out the possibility of using higher dilutions on patients as well. For him
the only parameter to do so was his experience with patients. “It is only
experience that can decide whether this tiny particle has become too weak to
fight an illness, too weak to turn illness into health in this particular case.
This is no matter of consideration based on theories but a matter of experience
which is the only competent judge to make a decision.”
This consideration made other homoeopaths deal with high potencies in
more detail, manufacture them and test them in therapy.
The C200- Remedies
Still in the days of H., Clemens F.M. von Boenninghausen (1785-1864)
potentized remedies up to C200. In 1859 he wrote, “Just like allopathy, which
used experience - because experience is the one and only means of deciding i.e.
knowing to which degree the dose can be increased safely, homoeopathy also
relied on experience to find out
up to which amount the dose could be reduced to still have a healing
effect.”
Boenninghausen also motivated Lehrmann, another of H.’s students, to
manufacture C200 potencies following H.’s method. At each step Lehmann shook
the vial vigorously 25x. After all, the reason for using higher and higher
potencies was the desire to reduce the initial aggravation of symptoms, which
occurs in the course of any homoeopathic treatment. Before long it was realized
that this goal could not be reached, but that a new effect occurred with these
remedies:
The period of action was extended considerably and the remedy then
developed effects which had been hidden in the range of lower potencies.
Julius Caspar Jenichen
Jenichen was introduced to homoeopathy by H.’s student Gustaf Wilhelm Gross.
He was one of those manufacturers who produced the first high potencies by
hand.
He was of the opinion that the shaking strokes in particular were
responsible for the different potency levels of the remedy. For a long time he
kept his method a secret because he wanted to manufacture high potencies of his
whole stock of remedies and test them in therapy before publicizing his theory.
This way of doing it was criticized by numerous of his contemporaries, but
finally Berridge found out about the secret:
Jenichen started with the C29, he let the contents evaporate and
thereafter refilled the vial with ethanol. Then he shook it using 12 shaking
strokes for each potency step. The first 800 steps were diluted in a ratio of
1:300 and shaken 12x each, then the ratio was 2:12,000 and the vial was shaken
30x.
This method led to the development of various potentizing machines.
Since the construction of such machines was based upon different attempts and
considerations the results were similarly divergent.
Like the potentizing machines of those days, today’s potentizers also
share the principle that only one vial is used for potentizing. At that time
this single-vial method using the centesimal scale developed by Count Korsakoff
, represented a revolutionary divergence from H.’s potentizing method. There is
no evidence however, in reports of the year 1829 based on personal contacts
with Korsakoff , that H. criticized this method.
Should a 10M be prepared today using the multi-vial method, the cost of
the vials and tops alone would amount to approximately EUR 2180.- These vials
would cover a surface of about 10 square metres if set down close to each other
and would have to be disposed of after single use. This pioneering work also
showed the homoeopaths of
that time, that it was not only possible to prepare higher potencies
than H.’s C30 remedies, but also to increase their efficacy by doing so. Then
it was only a short step towards potentizing higher dilutions by machine. Mure
broke the ice and built the first potentizing machine.
Potentizing by Machine (persönlich glaube ich, dass
Mitteln potenziert mit Machine zuverlässiger sind als mit Hand potenzierte. Aus
Erfahrung weiß ich dass per Hand potenzieren immer unter schiedlich ist. Selbst
an einem Tag können die Hände unterschiedlich stark aufschlagen).
There are basically two types of potentizing machines: Fluxion
potentizers, which potentize using turbulence in liquids, and succussion
potentizers, which use shaking strokes for potentizing. In the case of fluxion potentizers,
which work discontinuously, the vial is repeatedly filled and emptied (Skinner,
Boericke, Kent); The continuous method measures the potency level from the
amount of medicine carrier continuously passing through (Swan, Allen, Fincke).
Due to the wide dissemination of the fluxion method
at the turn of the century most case studies are about remedies
manufactured in this way.
Benoit Mure (1809-1858)
A contemporary of H. is likely to be the first who built potentizing machines.
It was in Palermo in 1838, when he constructed 3 machines for the manufacture
of homoeopathic remedies using the succussion method.
So far no comment by H. on their efficiency has been known, neither were
those remedies to be found in H.’s pharmacy in Paris.
In the year 1865, B. Fincke published a paper on the invention of his
potentizing machine with which he produced fluxion potencies. Earlier he had
dealt with mechanical potentizing in a series of preliminary experiments, where
he tried to use the force of a steel spring under tension. With his fluxion
potencies, Fincke was also the first manufacturer who prepared far higher
dilutions than C200.
The first machine, which he used until 1869, consisted of a thin tube, a
glass and a graduated vessel. Tap water flowed through the tube into the vial.
From there the water flowed into the measuring vessel whose graduation showed
the respective potency level. With this system Fincke produced rather irregular
potency levels such as 16C, 11M, 19M, 23M, 37M, 47M, 103M etc.
In the course of time the inventor started doubting the efficiency of
his method:
By injecting the liquid into the potentizing vial the remedy could
easily be soiled.
The uncommon range of potency levels
The measuring of potency levels based upon the water passing through
In 1869 he therefore disposed of all his remedies prepared up to then
and developed a machine with which he manufactured his well-known “Fincke High
Potencies”: There it was essential to measure the volume of the medicine carrier
before it would flow into the vial. As he had his machine patented in 1869, it
was not possible for a long time to find out closer details on the method of
potentizing. Kent, however, reported on their properties, “The Fincke High
Potencies never failed me; they act quickly, long and deeply”.
Fincke writes about his method, “It differs in many
respects from the other methods known - but in one essential point the
Hahnemanian mode of preparation has been preserved and perfected, and that is
by adhering rigidly to the centesimal scale.”
And exactly there he was mistaken, because his method differed
considerably from H.’s multi-vial method. He used the continuous method where
the glass is continuously passed through, thus “steps” were simply out of the
question. He did not use lactose for the trituration of the basic substances,
because he thought it would have too much medicinal efficacy itself. Ethanol
would evaporate too quickly and therefore increase the potency level
unintentionally. Moreover, it would be too expensive because for a Fincke CM
5000 Drachmen ~ 17kg ethanol (1 Drachme = 3 Scrupel = 3.888g) would be needed.
He manufactured the initial potencies up to C30 with ethanol, then he worked
with distilled water, which he soon replaced by Nassau-water from Brooklyn,
i.e. tap water from his surgery, which was the cheapest way.
The increasing success of his remedies was proof of his theory that by
potentizing a C30 the spirit of the remedy becomes an integral part of the
carrier to such an extent that
it cannot be destroyed by external influences.
Thus he was of the opinion that possibly existing contaminants in the
Nassau-water would not influence the efficacy negatively. “Each water has an
individuality of its own that does not interfere with the action of high
potencies in using it as vehicle for potentization.”
When potentizing the first steps, Fincke diluted with ethanol in a ratio
of 1:100 and shook the vial 180 times in dactylus rhythm. Then he emptied the
vial with two vigorous downward strokes and refilled the vial with 99T ethanol.
In case of watery remedies he potentized up to C6 using this method and in case
of fatty remedies, up to C30, which now represented his “initial potencies”.
Now he continued working with the apparatus depicted above. It consisted
of a stock vessel (500ml, 5l or 20l) with graduations. A glass tube was placed
inside which extended to the bottom of the bottle and rose out of the bottle
ending in a U-bend. It was used for emptying the bottle. It stretched beyond the
bottom of the bottle by approximately 2.5cm and a rubber tube connected it to
the regulator, a glass tube tapering considerably at its end. This tube
stretched to the bottom of the vial which was set in a wooden holding device on
a draining channel. When starting, the outlet was filled with water from the
stock vessel, the regulator tube was connected and put into the vial moistened
with “initial potency”. When the potentization had been completed, Fincke
emptied the glass with two vigorous shaking strokes and refilled it with 95%
ethanol. After that he vigorously shook it 2x in dactylus rhythm. He sealed the
vial with a cork and labelled it as follows:
6 cm Aconitum napellus.
? (F flor.rec.) 1871
The square root sign stands for “parent substance”, F for “tinctura
fortis” = original tincture, “Flor.rec.” stands for fresh plant. Fincke also
took down the place where the plant had been collected. He manufactured the
last remedy in 1905.
His remedies were always administered as globules.
In an article on the manufacture of high potencies Adolph Lippe wrote in
1868, “Lehrmann’s 200th potencies act very similarly to the 30th of H.,
Jenichen’s act much more intensely, and Fincke’s far surpass them as to
intensity.”
With his method Fincke caused a sensation. In 1941 W.W. Robinson stated,
“The discovery by Fincke that the “fluxion” or continuous flow of water through
a receptable holding a fixed quantity, enabled attenuations to be prepared
without succussion and produced wide contention on the part of those who saw in
such an accomplishment a radical divergence from what had long been accepted as
an indispensable part of the attenuating procedure.
But whatever the opinions, the fact remains that machines for making
high attenuations became a reality and the reports of their clinical
application were uniformly satisfactory.”
Dr. Lenth was the next to produce high potencies. He, however, never
gave away his method and his remedies never gained any importance, either.
Caroll
Dunham. (1828-1877)
Thomas Skinner (1825-1877)
Born in Newington, Edinburgh, Scotland. There he studied medicine and
graduated from university in 1853. In the following years he developed the
Skinner-Mask, which proved to be a great success in the field of anaesthesia.
After a fit of influenza he suffered from insomnia in 1871 and could not sleep
for more than 2 hours per week.
Two years later he met Dr. E.W. Berridge,
who was on his way from England to Pennsylvania to study homoeopathy at
the H. Medical College. He prescribed a single dose of Sulfur MM prepared by
Boericke
for Skinner, who was cured immediately. From then on Skinner was an
advocate of homoeopathy.
In 1876 he came to the U.S. to attend the International Congress on
Homoeopathy of the American Institute of Homoeopathy, chaired by Dr. Caroll
Dunham. There he met
all the important figures of his time, such as Hering, Lippe, HC Allen
and Samuel Swan.
In 1878 Dr. Thomas Skinner developed the fluxion-centesimal potentizer,
which was constructed to be placed on a small washbasin. It was powered by
water and two vials were used for potentizing, one of which only served as a
spare.
The potentizing principle was the powerful flow of medicine carrier into
the solution of the remedy. The water (simple tap water) was flowing out of a
phosphorus-bronze nozzle, and the flow could be regulated. The machine was
started up in the following way:
The potentizing vial was filled with the remedy to be potentized and
shaken about 1 minute in order to moisten the wall. Then the vial was emptied
with several downward strokes and attached to the holding device. After that
the machine was started up and at each step 100 drops were injected into the
vial which was emptied thereafter by swivelling the holding device. When the desired
potency level had been reached, the vial was emptied into a new vial, this was
emptied again and refilled with ethanol.
Then it was shaken vigorously 25 times and thereafter crude globules
were moistened. The remedies were specified as FC (Fluxion Centesimal) to
distinguish them from H.’s centesimal potencies. Skinner always emphasized the
discontinuity of his method in contrast to Swan’s and Fincke’s methods.
Skinner said about his machine, “It passes through 50 centesimal steps
per minute, 3,000 per hour, 72,000 per day, 100,000 per about 33 hours and M in
about 14½ days.
In his letter to Dr. Hayes, James Tyler Kent states that according to
him, Skinner’s machine is the only one in the world which manufactures
high-quality remedies.
Shortly before the turn of the century Boericke & Tafel’s
Philadelphia-based company “Penn Instrument Company” launched an advanced
version of Skinner’s centesimal potentizing machine.
The machine is set in a case with sliding doors of glass and has six
holding devices for vials attached to one girder. Each vial in the case is
separated from the others by
a special partition, so that the remedies cannot contaminate each other.
With an adjustable syringe the water is injected into test tube-like vials
containing the remedy.
Then the vials are tilted and emptied. One cycle takes about one second.
In retrospect one can say that Skinner’s remedies were the most widely
used among the high potencies. Around 1960 there was no manufacturer in the USA
who potentized remedies higher than C200. When buying a high potency then, it
was most likely one from Boericke & Tafel, i.e. one from a Skinner
potentizer.
Until recently homoeopaths wrongly believed that Skinner remedies, as
advertised by Boericke & Tafel, were potentized using shaking strokes. Only
when the attempt was made to include the machine as a standard method in the
American Pharmacopoea HPUS, did this error become obvious. Since then these
remedies have been less popular in the USA because they differ too much from
H.’s method of diluting and shaking. Moreover, it turned out in the course of
experiments with perfect copies of the Skinner potentizer, that it was not one
hundredth of the remedy, as assumed, that remained in the vial, but only about
one seventeenth.
James Tyler Kent (1849-1916)
Only a couple of years later Kent constructed his own potentizing
machine, which was used for the manufacture of remedies by Erhart and Karl in
Chicago.
This machine potentized up to CM, and it was the only one where the
liquid was shaken at each step. Moreover, Kent used filtered water as a
medicine carrier, contrary
to all other manufacturers who used simple tap water.
The machine had an engine driving two arbors connected with a worm gear
pair. Attached to these arbors, there were eccentric plates for the strokes,
the opening mechanism and the lifting mechanism. Urban J. Erhart’s manually
potentized C1000 served as the basis. During the potentizing process both vials
were sealed with a leather membrane, which was lowered after each completed
step, so that the contents of the vial could drain off. Unfortunately, there is
no information on the way in which the empty vials were refilled with water.
There are no contemporary witnesses either. It is regarded as unlikely that
Kent only used a flexible tube and gravity to supply the system with water.
In Erhart & Karl’s list, 900 Kent remedies in the potencies 10M, 50M
and CM were offered, prices of 1 oz were 1.00, 1.50 and 2.00 dollars.
H.C. Allen (1835-1909)
The fluxion-centesimal-potentizer of the homoeopath born in Quebec, used
Kent’s CM and potentized by injecting water into a round medicinal vessel which
had been manufactured by Kent himself. When the highest potency level of DMM
had been reached, the vessel was disposed of, so that it could not be reused
accidentally. Several tubes rose down into the vessel. They pressed the water
against the glass bottom in different angles, thus creating turbulence in the
liquid, which then moistened the whole surface of the vessel. The glass vessel
itself was clamped to the holding device so that the high water pressure could
not destroy it. Moreover, a water filter, an engine and
a water meter were connected to this machine. Unfortunately, no
illustration of this potentizing machine has been handed down. In Erhart &
Karl’s list of remedies 250 polychrests are listed. Their potency levels were
DM, MM, CMM and DMM at prices of 2.00, 2.50, 3.00 and 3.50 dollars.
S.P. Burdick
The machine, as depicted, was described in an article in the North
American Journal of Homoeopathy in the year 1879. Martin Deschere called it the
first construction which was in complete accordance with the centesimal
principle.
In practice, however, the high potencies which had been prepared using
this machine did not seem to have proven their worth, since neither details on
the whereabouts of the machine, nor on the efficacy of the remedies have been
handed down.
Francis Edmund Boericke (1826-1901)
He was born in Glachau, Germany, and emigrated to the USA in 1849, where
he met Rudolf Tafel. In 1863 he completed his medical studies at the H. Medical
College of Pennsylvania. In 1878 he published an article on a potentizing
machine constructed by him. It was operated with a crank which pumped water
into a medicinal vessel via a system of pistons. After five strokes the vessel
was emptied. Skinner supposed that Boericke’s bad health was caused by the
continuous influence of high potencies on his body during manufacture.
Ellis M. Santee
In 1889 the young doctor Dr. Santee constructed a potentizing machine at
the H. College in Philadelphia, which was so simple, that using it each doctor
could prepare his own remedies in his surgery. The machine was in a sort of
suitcase, which was small enough to be placed on any washbasin in a surgery.
The feed tube was first connected to a water meter, which at the same time
served as a potency level indicator, and then to a nozzle. The medicine carrier
water passed through the 30 openings of the nozzle, thus swirling and diluting
the remedy in the vessel. When enough liquid had passed through, the vessel was
tilted by gravity and emptied. This procedure was repeated again and again.
According to records, J.T. Kent also used such a machine for some time.
Samuel Swan (1813-1893)
Swan turned to homoeopathy later in life and was known for his numerous
self-made remedies, among them Lac defloratum, Medorrhinum, Tuberculinum and
Syphillinum.
For potentizing he piped a continuous stream of liquid into a vessel
which had once contained a drop of medicinal substance. He measured the height
of the potency from the amount of water passing through.
Lippe called him a “bottle-washer” and Kent wrote in
1903, “Swan’s potencies are a deception of the worst kind. I have seen how he
prepares them and have then thrown away all of my Swan potencies.” After the
death of the so-called constructors, potentizing by machine came to a temporary
end. Erhart and Karl kept distributing the remedies from the Kent and Allen
machine until 1940.
Decimal Potencies - the Countermovement
The time of the development of machine-made high potencies was
accompanied by fierce controversies between the homoeopaths. This, however,
induced the supporters of high and low potencies to go their own ways.
The decline of homoeopathy in the USA also resulted in a decrease in
demand for high potencies and the manufacturers again turned to remedies in the
low potency range.
Thus, it was Constantine Hering in Philadelphia who responded to
the increasing demand for low potencies by introducing decimal triturations,
whose principles were publicized by Vehsemeyer in Berlin and shortly after were
also mentioned in Gruner’s and W. Schwabe’s pharmacopoeias.
Vehsemeyer introduced D-potencies because they could be dosed precisely. He
thought that the C3 of a remedy would already be too strong if the C2 did not
act.
He suggested solving the problem of dosing by using the finer gradation
of the decimal range. That is to say he paid special attention to the efficacy
of the substance, whereas H. regarded the centesimal potencies as being too
strong and therefore developed the Q-potencies (50,000th series), which acted
less powerfully and could be dosed better.
Multi-vial versus single-vial
For preparing homoeopathic potencies by machine, it is nowadays considered
indispensable to use the single-vial-method according to Korsakoff. Changing
the potentizing vial after each step would not only be too complicated from a
technical point of view, but also too costly.
The question of the correct specification of machine-made high potencies
has been discussed repeatedly, whereas their efficacy in therapy has been of
lesser interest. (30). Mathematically speaking, the final dilution of a
Korsakovian potentization is identical to that of the Hahnemanian
multi-vial-method, provided that one hundredth of the remedy solution keeps
adhering to the glass wall. In practice, however, small tolerances in machine
adjustments and adsorptive phenomena have a great influence on the degree of
dilution of the remedy.
In experiments with eosin, which was potentized up to C6, C15, C30,
C200, 1M, 10M and 50M in different potentizing machines, Boericke & Tafel
tested the accuracy of Swan’s, Skinner’s and Fincke’s systems in 1906. Using a
spectrometer, they found out that the dilution level of Skinner remedies
amounted to only a 5th of the dilution levels of remedies prepared
using the Hahnemanian multi-flask method, a C30 thus approximately corresponded
to a C6.
This is also in accord with current experiences made with such remedies.
On the occasion of the annual general meeting of the Ã-GHM in 1999 Dr.
Reinhard Flick stated that Müntz’s fluxion potencies act more
shortly and less powerfully than C- and K-potencies. The low potency levels
(FC500 und FC1M) in particular act very gently and hardly ever provoke an
initial aggravation of the symptoms.
The power of a FC500 approximately corresponds to a Hahnemanian C30, the
FC10M approximately to a C200 and the FC50M to a C1000. Dr. Flick summarized
that homoeopathic treatment starting with the FC10M is successful in most cases
and that the FC50M is also suitable for the beginning if the symptoms are very
clear.
The Accuracy of the Korsakovian Method
Korsakovian potentizing which is used for all discontinuous potentizing
machines is often regarded as identical to the multi-vial method regarding its
accuracy. In order to assess the accuracy of the dilution ratio of the
Korsakovian method, Mag. Renee Fikisz made a statistical evaluation. (34) The
analysis was carried out with potentizing vials of different sizes. Two thirds
of each vial were filled with the medicine carrier water. Then, as in
homoeopathic potentizing, the vials were shaken ten times and emptied with two
vigorous downward strokes.
Definitions, interpretation and evaluation
Mean value:
The arithmetical mean shows the residue which on average remains in the
individual vials after they have been emptied. As expected, it is increasing
with the increasing inner surface of the vial. It is worth mentioning the fact that
the calculated average residues are in all cases considerably higher than the
residues required for centesimal potentizing (0.07ml / 0.15ml / 0.20ml). The
adaptation of these mean values to the required mean value increases
significantly with the increasing size of the vials.
Standard deviation and variance:
The empirical standard deviation is the most commonly used variation
measure. It shows the average deviation of the measured values from the mean
value, thus describing the reliability of the method to reach the mean value
(mean variation). Since in our case plain numbers lack meaningfulness -
different vial sizes are compared to each other - the standard deviation was
compared to the mean value and the relative standard deviation was calculated. Thus,
it could be demonstrated that when using 20ml vials the residues deviated from
the mean value only by ±8,59% on average.
The empirical variance (average square deviation) in this case also has
the best value.
Probability ranges
Assuming that the values of the individual series of measurements are
distributed according to the Gaussian law, the probability of further measured
values can even be predicted (probabilities and corresponding value intervals
see table).
Vial volume 10ml 20ml 30ml
liquid volume used 7ml 15ml
20ml
mean value of residues
(x) 0.179ml
0.237ml 0.249ml
required mean value for centesimal potentizing 0.07ml 0.15ml 0.20ml
deviation from required mean value in % 255% 158% 124.50%
standard deviation
(s) 0.02596ml
0.02037ml 0.03133ml
relative standard deviation (%) +/- 14.51% +/- 8.59% +/-
12.58%
empirical variance
(qs) 0.00067
0.00041 0.00098
x +/- s
(68% probability) 0.153ml - 0.205ml 0.216ml
- 0.257ml 0.218ml - 0.280ml
x +/- 2s
(95% probability) 0.127ml -0.231ml 0.196ml
- 0.278ml 0.186ml - 0.312ml
x +/- 3s
(99,73% probability) 0.101ml - 0.257 ml 0.175ml
- 0.298ml 0.155ml - 0.343ml
Evaluation
The high degree of deviation from the required mean value excludes the
use of 10ml vials. The use of 30ml vials provides better results regarding the
approximation to the required mean value, on the other hand, mean variation is
getting worse.
A possible compromise between both tendencies could be the use of 20ml
vials for Korsakovian potentizing. The results showed surprisingly great
deviations from the value 1/100, which is referred to in publications beginning
with Korsakoff.
Müntz’s Korsakovian Potentizing Machine
It was a school project of the technical college of Eisenstadt. The goal
of the project was the development and construction of a machine for the
manufacture of high potencies, with dilutions up to MM. The manufacture of
reliable and powerfully acting Korsakovian potencies, required a high constancy
of both the intensity of the strokes and the dilution ratio, which induced the
author to commission the HTBLA-Eisenstadt (technical college) with the
construction of a machine for all-automatic potentizing.
The following requirements were made:
The dilution is potentized
with ten strokes.
The intensity of the strokes
shall be equivalent to that reached by a strong man’s arm.
The potentizing machine shall
be able to produce ten remedies simultaneously.
The remedies must not be
exposed to any magnetic stray fields.
The system shall be
automatically controlled by a PC.
In case of a power failure or
other faults all data have to be saved fail-safe.
First of all, several different solutions for the realization of a
potentizing machine were developed. After systematic evaluation the best
concept was chosen. It served as a basis for the construction
of the machine, which was then realized on the CAD-system of the school.
The first step was the development of the individual sets of components, which
were then assembled. While the shop drawings of all components needed for the
construction of the machine were being made, control diagrams, circuit diagrams
and the respective software for the control system were being developed.
Before long it turned out that only compressed air could be used as
driving power.
Description of the individual sets of components:
Set I - FRAME
As all the other components are mounted on this frame, this set is an
essential part of the potentizing machine. It is mainly responsible for
reducing part of the vibrations and for providing a stabile basis for the whole
machine.
The frame is carried on wheels so that the machine can be transported
easily.
Set II - DOSING
The main function of this set is to fill an amount of 4.0ml of water
into each of the ten vials by compressing the pump hose with an adjustable
thrust piece.
Two reflux valves ensure that the water is pumped into the right
direction and that the dosing system is always full. There are 10 of these
dosing systems which are connected to each other by a dosing girder. With the
extension of the pneumatic cylinders, all 10 thrust pieces are moved via the
dosing girder. As required, each of the 10 systems can be activated or
deactivated by operating the spherical buttons.
Set III - Main body
It has the following functions:
Guidance of the vial during the shaking process
Absorption and reduction of the vibrations
The centre of this unit is a granite block of 85 kg with ten bore holes
for the guide tubes where the vials are exposed to the strokes.
The momentum of undamped strokes would destroy the vials immediately.
That is why a special damping material was inserted at the bottom of each unit.
The granite block was separated from the frame by rubber dampers in order to
prevent the checkless transmission of the vibrations of the whole system to the
periphery.
Set IV - Shifting device
Changing position
On this illustration the guide tubes with the potentizing vials are
freely accessible in the upmost position. The whole shifting device is in the
backmost position. A new sterilized vial is filled with a C200 which has been
potentized by hand using the multi-vial method and is then put into the holding
case.
Suction position
The suction tube of the shifting device is moved above the vial. Then the
suction unit is lowered till the suction tube touches the bottom of the vial
and the liquid is sucked out of the vial. The residues of the liquid adhering
to the glass wall remain inside and serve as the basis for the next step. After
suction has been completed the suction unit moves back to the filling position.
The phases are repeated as often as required.
Filling position
The shifting device now moves from the vial changing position to the
foremost position so that the feed tube is above the vial. Then 4.0ml of water
are filled into the vial.
Shaking position
The shifting device now moves in a way that the shaking unit is
positioned above the vial. After that the U-steel is lowered and puts the
stopper onto the vial, simultaneously the spring is bent.
By opening a valve, the overpressure in the guide tube is removed
abruptly and the vial is hurled downwards. Then the guide tube is again filled
with compressed air and the process can start anew. The intensity of the
strokes can be adjusted with the spring. When the required number of strokes
has been reached (normally 10x), the U-steel moves back in the upmost position.
PC-control
The controlling system should control and monitor the process
automatically and take respective measures in case of failures and faults that
may occur.
In case of a power cut, the last counts of the counter are saved, so
that the process can be continued later. The medicinal liquid shall not get
close to electric or magnetic fields.
Moreover, the system is responsible for documenting the potentizing
processes.
Properties of the controlling system
The system is controlled by a PC which is connected to the sensors and
actuators via a 48-channel I/O-card from BMC. The PC-control uses the normal
Windows user-interface because of its user-friendliness. A special software for
the control of the machine was developed in Visual Basic.
Pneumatic control
The pneumatic cylinders are controlled by electronically operated
valves. The valves are controlled via a relay board. Air is supplied by a
compressor producing air pressure
of 4.5bar.The air for the cylinders and valves has to be specially
treated. Therefore an air filter was placed directly after the compressor and
an air oiler directly before the cylinders. For each cylinder the extension speed
can be controlled separately. To be able to do so, adjustable throttles were
screwed onto each cylinder opening. In order to reduce the noise of the
escaping air, sound absorbers were installed. After each start of the system an
automatic check is carried out, in the course of which the cylinders are
extended and run in to test the switches.
All components which get in contact with the remedy are new and disposed
of after use. These are the stoppers, the suction tubes and the vials. The
initial potency for this machine is a C200, made by hand from a C3-trituration
using the multi-vial method. The remedies are exclusively prepared for use
after prescription by a homoeopath and are specified as follows:
Sulphur 10MK Rem
A centesimal step takes 24 seconds, that is 1M in 6.66h, 10M in not
quite 3 days and one MM in 10 months.
Commentary
All in all, the realization of this HTBLA-project as described above
turned out to be difficult, particularly as strong mechanical forces are at
work when operating the machine. After the first successful test runs and after
improving the handling of the PC-control by revising the software, all screwed
connections began to loosen due to the tremendous momentum of the strokes.
Finally the machine was in danger of falling apart. However, after revising the
apparatus once more, it could finally go into operation.
At the moment, the only machine of this kind is being tested in the
Tuxer Alps near Navis/Tyrol at an altitude of 1660m. The water comes directly
from a spring (set in prehistoric rock) which is poor in mineral substances.
After use the water flows through a piping system to a turbine which
supplies the power necessary for the operation of the machine.
Technical data:
Duration of a potentizing step: 24 seconds
Number of shaking strokes per step: 10
Capacity: max. 10 remedies simultaneously
Production time of a MM: 10 months
Initial potency C200 from C3-Trit. according to Organon: 6
Power consumption of peripherals: 3.6 kW
Amount of water required a day: 140 litres
Weight: 350kg
Time of construction: 2.5 years
Conclusion
Potentizing machines have always been used for the manufacture of
remedies which could not be prepared by hand because of their high dilution;
they are no subsidiary system of potentizing by hand.
It has to be pointed out that the commonly used specifications of high
potencies such as “10MK” are not based upon standardized methods. Manufacturers
have always realized their purely personal ideals of potentizing machines,
which has led to extremely different results. The fact that the mechanized
manufacture of high potencies is not standardized in the European Homoeopathic
Pharmacopoea furthers this case even more.
It is also of interest that since the existence of high potencies, more
attention has been paid to constructive details than to the quality of the
initial potencies. None of the historical potentizations by machine used H.’s
C3-triturations, they always used the mother tincture.