One theme that has come up a few times this past week is that of homeostasis. Professor Durant mentioned as a side note in class that homeostasis as a concept in physiology was not widely understood during the Victorian era. Nineteenth century physicians realized the basics behind the concept (namely, that a body became ill when its balance was offset in some way), and this view is reflected in the widespread use of treatments that consider the four Galenic humours crucial to the health of the patient. When a patient had a fever, he was bled, to reset the balance of the blood humour. While the treatment was technically ineffective in nearly all cases, it shows that physicians were thinking along the right track in terms of mechanisms of the body.
We have seen examples of better understanding of the concept of homeostasis in areas other than physiology. Darwin and Wallace’s theory of natural selection is a perfect example of this. They came to realize that species are gradually “selected” for traits that allow them to survive and reproduce. If any species strays too far from the “set point” of qualities necessary for survival, it will not be able to compete and will eventually die out.
Professor Durant noted that Wallace explained the phenomenon of natural selection using the metaphor of a steam engine governor. A steam engine governor, just like the one we saw on the Prince Albert engine at the Crossness sewage pumping station, consists of a spinning bobbin that regulates the speed of the engine using centrifugal force; if it is going too fast, the weights move farther from the center to balance and restore the set point speed. Homeostasis is an important theme in many scientific disciplines, and it is interesting that it seems to have been a relatively novel concept to Victorian scientists.
The green rotating device is the governor for the Prince Albert steam engine at Crossness.
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