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We observe electrolysis with gas evolution, a phenomenon occurring in a number of industrial scale electrochemical processes. Here, water electrolysis takes place in a small undivided electrolysis cell consisting of vertical electrodes embedded in a larger glass vessel which contains a dilute NaOH solution. Fluid flow velocities are measured by particle image velocimetry with fluorescent tracers, while size distribution and velocities of the bubbles are determined from bubble shadow images obtained with a high speed camera. Coalescence phenomena are observed in the flow and explain the relatively wide distribution of bubble sizes. Depending on the gap width and the current density, bubbles ascending near the electrodes form two discernible bubble curtains (low average void fraction, wide gaps) or a flow profile more akin to a channel flow (high average void fraction, small gaps). If the flow consists of separate bubble curtains, instabilities develop not unlike to those of a single phase wall jet. Finally, the influence of different wall parallel Lorentz force configurations on the velocity distribution in the cell is investigated. These Lorentz forces are generated by permanent magnets mounted behind the electrodes. Depending on gap width, current density, and magnet configuration, liquid phase velocities can be increased by several times compared to the baseline case.

Lorentz force-based flow control in materials with low electrical conductivity has a long history back to the first half of the 19th century. This review will focus on developments during the last two decades, collecting results from numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. Typically, the actuators consist of permanent magnets and electrodes flush-mounted with the surface, generating Lorentz forces in the fluid layers adjacent to the wall. We will discuss the application of Lorentz forces to reduce friction drag in turbulent boundary layers and to delay boundary layer transition. The control of separated flows and shear layers is another key aspect of the review. Energetic efficiency, one of the main criteria for flow control, and its relation to typical operating conditions will be analyzed as well. Lorentz forces can be successfully used to control a broad range of flow phenomena and are a versatile tool for basic fluid dynamics research. However their current applicability in large scale systems is hampered by the low electrical to mechanical efficiency intrinsic to actuators based on the magnetic fields delivered by today's permanent magnets.

Magnetic fields are applied to electrically conducting fluids in order to influence electrochemical processes through the magnetohydrodynamic effect. Various phenomena, e.g. on electrodeposited metal layers, which can be attributed to forced convections were observed. To provide information about acting forces, the laser Doppler velocity profile sensor was applied to measure the transition layer of a Lorentz force influenced flow over a backward-facing step and the velocity boundary layer during copper deposition. With this sensor, the electrolyte convection within < 500 μm of the front of an electrode is measured with a spatial resolution down to 15 μm. The interaction of buoyancy, Lorentz and magnetic field gradient forces is studied by measuring the velocities down to 10 μm in front of the cathode. Inside the concentration boundary layer, complex electrolyte convection is induced, which varies not only in time but also in its structure, depending on the forces present and their influence over time. In inhomogeneous magnetic field configurations, the magnetic field gradient force dominates the velocity boundary layer at steady state and transports electrolyte toward regions of high magnetic gradients, where maximum deposit thicknesses are found. In this way, the measurements confirm the predicted influence of the magnetic field gradient force on the structuring of copper deposits.

Lorentz force-based flow control in materials with low electrical conductivity has a long history back to the first half of the 19th century. This review will focus on developments during the last two decades, collecting results from numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. Typically, the actuators consist of permanent magnets and electrodes flush-mounted with the surface, generating Lorentz forces in the fluid layers adjacent to the wall. We will discuss the application of Lorentz forces to reduce friction drag in turbulent boundary layers and to delay boundary layer transition. The control of separated flows and shear layers is another key aspect of the review. Energetic efficiency, one of the main criteria for flow control, and its relation to typical operating conditions will be analyzed as well. Lorentz forces can be successfully used to control a broad range of flow phenomena and are a versatile tool for basic fluid dynamics research. However their current applicability in large scale systems is hampered by the low electrical to mechanical efficiency intrinsic to actuators based on the magnetic fields delivered by today’s permanent magnets.

Magnetic fields are applied to electrically conducting fluids in order to influence electrochemical processes through the magnetohydrodynamic effect. Various phenomena, e.g. on electrodeposited metal layers, which can be attributed to forced convections were observed. To provide information about acting forces, the laser Doppler velocity profile sensor was applied to measure the transition layer of a Lorentz force influenced flow over a backward-facing step and the velocity boundary layer during copper deposition. With this sensor, the electrolyte convection within < 500 μm of the front of an electrode is measured with a spatial resolution down to 15 μm. The interaction of buoyancy, Lorentz and magnetic field gradient forces is studied by measuring the velocities down to 10 μm in front of the cathode. Inside the concentration boundary layer, complex electrolyte convection is induced, which varies not only in time but also in its structure, depending on the forces present and their influence over time. In inhomogeneous magnetic field configurations, the magnetic field gradient force dominates the velocity boundary layer at steady state and transports electrolyte toward regions of high magnetic gradients, where maximum deposit thicknesses are found. In this way, the measurements confirm the predicted influence of the magnetic field gradient force on the structuring of copper deposits.

We observe electrolysis with gas evolution, a phenomenon occurring in a number of industrial scale electrochemical processes. Here, water electrolysis takes place in a small undivided electrolysis cell consisting of vertical electrodes embedded in a larger glass vessel which contains a dilute NaOH solution. Fluid flow velocities are measured by particle image velocimetry with fluorescent tracers, while size distribution and velocities of the bubbles are determined from bubble shadow images obtained with a high speed camera. Coalescence phenomena are observed in the flow and explain the relatively wide distribution of bubble sizes. Depending on the gap width and the current density, bubbles ascending near the electrodes form two discernible bubble curtains (low average void fraction, wide gaps) or a flow profile more akin to a channel flow (high average void fraction, small gaps). If the flow consists of separate bubble curtains, instabilities develop not unlike to those of a single phase wall jet. Finally, the influence of different wall parallel Lorentz force configurations on the velocity distribution in the cell is investigated. These Lorentz forces are generated by permanent magnets mounted behind the electrodes. Depending on gap width, current density, and magnet configuration, liquid phase velocities can be increased by several times compared to the baseline case.

Chloroplast stroma crystals similar to those reported by Perner (1962, 1963) but different from those described by other workers were demonstrat ed in Vicia faba chloroplasts. They were absent in chloroplasts isolated in no sucrose, 0.3 M sucrose or in situ material either fixed in the absence of sucrose of fixed in the presence of 0.3 M sucrose. They were present in chloroplasts isolated in 0.5 M sucrose and in situ chloroplasts fixed in the presence of 0.7 M sucrose.

Conclusion For the cell physiologist interested in the structure of the mesophyll cell and the functions of its various parts the immediate problems may be listed as follows:

Thomson, W. W., and T. E. Weier. (U. California, Davis.) The fine structure of chloroplasts from mineral‐deficient leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris.Amer. Jour. Bot. 49(10): 1047–1055. Illus. 1962.—An electron microscopic study of the changes in chloroplast structure as affected by the stress of nutrient deficiencies is described. Each deficiency produces characteristic changes in the ultrastructure of the chloroplast. In phosphorus and potassium deficiency the plastids develop fully before changes occur; then the grana break down into diffuse, electron‐dense masses, forming a highly ordered lamellar system. The plastids of plants low in nitrogen and magnesium do not reach full development before changes occur. In nitrogen‐deficient plastids, the stroma is greatly diminished and the grana compartments are swollen and reduced in number. In magnesium deficiency, the grana‐fretwork system becomes disorganized and many star‐bodies are formed. The absence of zinc blocks the full development of a grana‐fretwork system, and large vacuoles are formed in conjunction with grana compartments.

Weier, T. Elliot. (U. California, Davis.) The ultramicro structure of starch‐free chloroplasts of fully expanded leaves of Nicotiana rustica.Amer. Jour. Bot. 48(7): 615–630. Illus. 1961.—The grana of starch‐free chloroplasts of fully expanded leaves of Nicotiana rusticaare distinct, compartmented, subplastid entities. They vary in size, shape, orientation and in the distinctness with which their compartments are delineated. It has not been possible to equate accurately their micro and ultramicro appearances. At the ultramicro level, the grana are connected with each other at irregular intervals by a system of anastomosing channels. The partitions forming the compartments of the grana may be coarse or very fine but are constant in appearance in any given chloroplast. The loculi enclosed by the partitions may vary in size with a granum, depending upon their location or upon the physiological activity of the chloroplast. The stroma does not penetrate the grana; it may be relatively fluid and the grana‐fretwork system may move within it. A double envelope, which may have pores connecting stroma and hyaloplasm, surrounds the chloroplasts. Materials may collect between the surfaces of the envelope. There is considerable variation in the ultramicro details of chloroplast structure of Nicotiana rustica.It is not yet possible to distinguish accurately between those variations which may be of physiological significance and those which may be induced by processing.

The behavior of dictyosomes in wall formation during cell division of Chlorella vulgarisfollows a definite pattern. During formation of the partition membrane they migrate into the equatorial plane and pair. There is a close spatial relationship between the dictyosomes and the partition membrane which, itself, may be derived from the fusion of dictyosomal vesicles. Dictyosomes also may participate significantly in the deposition of new wall material.

Weier, T. E., and W. W. Thomson. (U. California, Davis.) Membranes of mesophyll cells of Nicotiana rustica and Phaseolus vulgaris with particular reference to the chloroplast.Amer. Jour. Bot. 49(8): 807–820. Illus. 1962.—The endoplasmic reticulum in mesophyll cells is represented by short lengths of irregularly disposed, paired membranes. It is occasionally associated with a typically double nuclear envelope. Groups of irregularly parallel, paired membranes suggesting disorganized dictyosomes occur infrequently. Mitochondria are unevenly distributed in mesophyll; they are large and have sparse tubular cristae around their periphery. In the great majority of instances the bounding membrane is diffusely stained with KMnO4. When it is sharp and distinct, it may be double as usually pictured, or it may have well‐delineated stretches of a single membrane bounding 25–50% of its circumference. The tonoplast and ectoplast are very fragile, the former appearing as a single dark line. In young leaves the ectoplast is visualized as a continuous single membrane adjacent to the cell wall, but in our micrographs of mature leaves it is always discontinuous. The plastid membrane sometimes is distinctly double, having 2 dark components bounding a light component. In the great majority of cases, however, this membrane is either a solid dark line, or the clear component of the double membrane is crossed by delicate dark lines giving the membrane a braided, or scalariform appearance. The various appearances of the membrane may intergrade with each other. The width of the plastid membrane is variable, ranging from 200 to 400 A. The inner component may invaginate into the stroma, and bodies may form in the clear space between the 2 outer membrane components. Micrographs suggest that these bodies, and others formed by small masses of stroma, may be expelled into the hyaloplasm, where they exist as spherical single‐membraned particulates. The reality of the variable structure of the plastid membrane is discussed in light of concepts of membrane activity, molecular structure, and the relation of these factors to possible artifacts.

Etioplasts of 8‐day‐old, dark‐grown seedlings of Phaseolus vulgariscontain large, crystalline prolamellar bodies. The basic structural unit within the prolamellar body is a six‐pointed star (star module) with four tubules fusing at each of the nodes. With sufficient illumination some of the tubules are withdrawn and the crystalline prolamellar body transforms to a complex tangle of tubules, the reacted prolamellar body. In vivo spectrophotometry and electron microscopic observations were carried out on portions of the same leaves after varying periods of illumination with low light intensity. Protochlorophyllide transformation was normal. However, the structural changes are not closely tied to protochlorophyllide conversion. The pigment conversion is complete after 20 sec of illumination, but 80% of the prolamellar bodies are still in the crystalline form after 20 min of illumination. After 1 and 2 hr of illumination all prolamellar bodies are reacted. After 4 hr of continuous illumination 35%, and by 12 hr 60%, of the prolamellar bodies returned to the crystalline form. Spectrophotometric evidence and presence of grana show chlorophyll synthesis during this period. The coexistence of grana and the crystalline prolamellar body indicates that when insufficient photosynthetic membrane constituents are provided by the photo‐reactions, under low light intensity, the membranes of the reacted prolamellar body will be forced to reform a crystalline prolamellar body.

The development of the prolamellar body in etioplasts of dark‐grown seedlings of Phaseolus vulgarisis followed through the 8th day. From 2 to 6 days there is an increase in plastid size and starch content and synthesis of a system of porous lamellae which appear to arise, as such, from the inner component of the plastid envelope. From 6 to 8 days much of the starch disappears accompanied by rapid membrane synthesis resulting in an extensive prolamellar body. A model of the prolamellar body is discussed in which the basic structural unit is a six‐pointed star with four tubules joining at each node. Observation of face views of the porous peripheral lamellae at their juncture with the prolamellar body suggests the origin of the prolamellar body by the continued contraction of the porous lamellae and the formation of interconnecting tubules between adjacent lamellae. The pores of the peripheral lamellae appear to correspond to the areas of stroma within each star module. Short lengths of membranes of individual peripheral lamellae fuse, forming short overlaps which resemble small, two‐compartmented grana. It is postulated that this is the initial step in grana formation.

Cells of Streptanthus tortuosuscallus tissue contain chloroplasts when cultured in a liquid medium in the light. Similar cells grown in the dark contain proplastids that fail to develop prolamellar bodies but do contain a complex of loosely‐associated membranes. When green, light‐grown cultures are cut into small pieces and subcultured to a fresh culture medium, they become bleached even though maintained under the same illumination. The fine structure of the chloroplasts and the chlorophyll content of the cells indicate a dedifferentiation of the chloroplasts to a proplastid state during the early culture period. The changes in the ultrastructure of the plastids are paralleled by a dedifferentiation of the vacuolate cells to a less differentiated, meristematic state. Subsequent growth in the light results in a re‐formation of chloroplasts and an increase in the chlorophyll content of the cells. The period of chloroplast redevelopment is associated with the re‐formation of large central vacuoles in the cultured cells. Invaginations of the inner membrane of the plastid envelope occur at all stages of plastid development and are not lost during the period of grana degeneration. The proplastids formed from the dedifferentiation of the chloroplasts contain a large number of these invaginations and the redevelopment of grana is associated with a change in the electron density of the invaginating membranes. The degradation of the chlorophyll‐containing membranes of the grana occurs during a period of rapid cytoplasmic synthesis induced by the fresh supply of nutrients in the culture medium. These results suggest that the high levels of nutrients may act directly on the chloroplasts and cause their dedifferentiation or that the rapid cell growth induced by the nutrients may cause a degradation of the membrane proteins in the grana of the chloroplasts and an incorporation of the released amino acids into non‐plastid components of the cytoplasm.

The application of sublethal doses of 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazole (AT) to germinating, light‐grown wheat grains causes chlorosis of the resulting leaves. An ultrastructural examination of the leaf tissue reveals that the plastids lack normal grana‐fret membrane systems and chloroplast ribosomes. A few disorganized membranes are always present in these chloroplasts. However, AT‐treated, dark‐grown seedlings contain proplastids with non‐crystalline prolamellar bodies and ribosomes. When these etiolated, treated plants are exposed to 600 ft‐c light for various periods of time, the proplastids fail to develop into normal, grana‐containing chloroplasts.

Weier, T. E. (U. California, Davis.) Changes in the fine structure of chloroplasts and mitochondria during phylogenetic and ontogenetic development.Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(6):604–611. Illus. 1963.—“There are few of the cytoplasmic formed bodies that have not been supposed to bo the products of mitochondria; but few of these conclusions have not been contradicted by other observers.” Thus E. B. Wilson wrote in 1925. Were he on the scene today, his comment might be broader in scope, for the literature of fine structure is already replete with hypotheses transforming one organelle into another, largely on the basis of 2‐dimensional static profiles and with scant regard for genetical or biochemical consequences. And but few of these transformations have not been questioned by other observers. The aim of this review is to bring together some of these reports on transformations as they relate to plastids and mitochondria, to point out some of the biochemical consequences, and to suggest an approach to plant cellular biology involving a combination of comparative ultrastructure and comparative biochemistry which, it is hoped, might avoid the development of the impasse at the ultrastructural level into which the light microscopists of a half‐century ago worked themselves.

The development of the pyrenoid of Scenedesmus quadricaudafrom the time of its initiation and its subsequent activities is described in some detail. Correlation is made between the evidence from light and electron microscopy. The pyrenoid is a dynamic organelle which continues to change its appearance throughout the development of the algal cell due to the following factors: the deposition of starch platelets within the periphery of the expanding matrix; the separation of starch grains into individual pockets by the intrusive growth of the chloroplast lamellae in centripetal fashion; and the transition of the shape of the starch from concavo‐convex platelets to lenticular grains. By these processes starch grains are continuously formed by deposition of carbohydrates within the matrix. The grains accumulate within the chloroplast, maintaining an organic connection with each other by slender starch bridges. Some parental starch grains are passed on to daughter cells during cell division. By taking into account the planes of cleavage during cell division, it is not difficult to see that pyrenoid starch grains could become distributed throughout the daughter chloroplast, regardless of their distance from the pyrenoid.

Healthy chloroplasts of Hordeum vulgare are compared with chloroplasts subjected to abnormal stresses such as in situ disruption, isolation, isolation plus washing in 0.5 m sucrose, and isolation plus washing in 0.5 m sucrose and distilled H2O. Normal chloroplasts resemble those of Nicotiana rustica and Phaseolus vulgaris in being composed of compartmented grana connected by an anastomosing fretwork system. They differ in having a somewhat greater incidence of parallel frets and double partitions. Under conditions of stress both grana and fretwork undergo varying degrees of swelling, and the double partition maintains its structural integrity. Grana are more resistant to abnormal stresses than the fretwork. Fret connections with more than 3 grana do not generally occur, but in some micrographs a single pathway may be traced through several grana. Washing isolated chloroplasts in distilled water results in an enlargement involving compartments of 2 or more grana together with the associated fretwork membranes. These results indicate that the grana in mature chloroplasts of Hordeum vulgare, like those of Nicotiana rustica and Phaseolus vulgaris, are compartmented structural units and not a series of localized aligned thickenings in regular extensive discs. These enlargements are complex structures comprising the membranes and spaces of both grana and frets. The swelling indicates an increase of locular and fret channel substance and possibly an enlargement of membrane surfaces. Dried down on grids, the compartments and frets appear as flat discs with radial appendages.

The deficiency of phosphorus results in a series of degradative changes in the chloroplasts. These changes can be divided into 4 overlapping phases and each phase or step reflects the severity of the deficiency. The general degenerative pattern involves first the alteration of the grana‐fretwork organization of the chloroplast membranes and the formation of a highly ordered, but more simplified, lamellar system. Subsequently, as the deficiency becomes more severe, the newly formed lamellar system breaks down. Concomitant with the membrane disorganization of the plastids, large osmiophilic globuli develop. These globuli probably form as a result of the gradual breakdown of the lipoprotein membranes with the lipid material accumulating in the globuli.

Further evidence from shadow casting techniques of the empty cells of Scenedesmus quadricaudaconfirms the structure of the pectic layer presented in an earlier work which was based entirely on reconstruction from thin sections. The structure of the net and props and their relationship are clearly seen and the inner boundary of the pectic layer is demonstrated by staining techniques.

The grana of chloroplasts of starch-free leaves of Nicotiana rustica are described in detail. Leaf sections were fixed in 2.5 per cent KMnO4 and embedded in mixtures of butyl and ethyl methacrylate. Chain length of the polymer was modified by use of a transfer agent. The grana are composed of compartments consisting of electron-scattering partitions and electron-transparent loculi. Compartments are not open to the stroma so that the grana are distinct subplastid organelles. Adjacent grana are connected by an anastomosing fretwork system composed of flexuous channels bordered by electron-scattering membranes. Ten different kinds of granum margins are described. These marginal variations depend upon grana-fretwork connections and internal marginal connections between adjacent loculi. A study of serial sections suggests, at least in some plastids, the occurrence of a possible orderly spiral arrangement of compartment-fretwork connections. Adjacent grana may have common compartments. Grana may branch. Variations in shape may depend upon the angle the section bears to the axis of the cylinder. This should also influence the relative thickness and sharpness of the partitions. Since all shapes and variations in partition thickness and sharpness cannot be accounted for on the basis of the orientation of the grana, such variations probably occur naturally. Grana vary in size, ranging from those few which have a single partition to those having 50 or more compartments which extend completely through the width of a plastid. Relationships between grana of different sizes and between compartments and frets indicate the possibility of growth of grana from union or extension of compartments and formation of compartments from the union of frets.

Proplastids in the mesophyll cells of the cotyledons of mature seeds of safflower are irregular in shape and compressed in narrow corners between the large inclusion bodies, oil vacuoles and protein bodies. The proplastids contain a few irregular internal membranes. During dark germination, sheets or sac‐like membranes are produced by the activity of the inner component of the proplastid envelope. These continuous membranes become reticulate and aggregate to the center of the proplastid to form after seven days' germination a quasicrystalline prolamellar body. The membranes are at first irregularly arranged and are of two sorts: those found in the interior of the developing prolamellar body, composed of laterally connected spherical profiles, and those on the periphery of the prolamellar body, which are continuous smooth sheets. The prolamellar body in these dark‐germinated proplastids reverts after 3 hr of illumination to the irregularly arranged membranous structure of the 5‐day dark germination stage. After 6 hr of illumination membranes grow from the prolamellar body forming concentric loops which, in cross section, appear as concentric circles. These membranes must be nested semi‐spheroids. Small grana appear immediately on these looped membranes close to the prolamellar body. With further illumination additional grana develop along the looped membranes in close proximity to the slowly disappearing prolamellar body. Grana increase in size and number along the looped intergranal membranes. The prolamellar body disappears after 15 hr of illumination. The interconnecting fret membranes, sparse at the 15‐hr stage, increase and after 24‐hr illumination result in the typical grana fretwork system of the mature chloroplast. Membranes are continuously being produced by the invagination of the inner member of the plastid envelope.

The ultrastructure of the plastids from the genetically caused but maternally transmitted mutant iojap of maize was studied at four stages of development. The plastids of green and potentially green tissue were normal at all stages studied. The plastids of the white tissue were aberrant at all stages studied and lacked the normal grana‐fretwork system as well as a normal prolamellar body. DNA‐like fibrils were present in aberrant plastids, but ribosomes were absent. This indicates that chloroplast ribosomes are important in chloroplast membrane formation. Aberrant plastids fail to develop normally and are not a degeneration of normal plastids. Aberrant and normal plastids occur in single cells in green tissue, but only aberrant plastids have been found in white tissue.

Weier, T. E., and C. R. Stocking. (U. California, Davis.) The cup plastid of Nicotiana rustica.Amer. Jour. Bot. 49(1): 24–32. Illus. 1962.—In situ and isolated chloroplasts of Nicotiana rusticahave been studied by light and electron microscopy. Under certain conditions, notably of low light intensity, the starch‐free plastid forms a cup. In isolated plastids the form may be modified by the tonicity of the isolation medium. In situ, the cup always faces the cell wall. Electron micrographs show the cup to be formed of compartmented grana connected at irregular intervals by flexuous channels known as frets. The interior of the cup is filled with a finely granular stroma which also forms the material surrounding the grana and the frets in the body of the cup. The grana radiate outward from the central stroma. They may be considered as cylinders. They are fairly rigid, as curvatures to form the cup‐shape occur only in the interconnecting fretwork. The compartments may have a limited movement with reference to their axis. These evidences of movement of the part of the ultramicro plastid structures thought to contain chlorophyll suggest that the movement may be related to changes in light intensity or other factors influencing the rate of photosynthesis.

Summary Chloroplasts, bothin situ and isolated, were dehydrated at low temperatures to avoid chlorophyll extraction. These chloroplasts were fixed with glutaraldehyde only or with glutaraldehyde followed by osmium. Chloroplasts dehydrated at low temperatures have narrower fret membranes, but the same dimensions of the partitions as chloroplasts dehydrated by standard techniques. However, the two membranes forming the partition are separated by an electron transparent region or A-component in low temperature dehydrated chloroplasts post-fixed with osmium. With glutaraldehyde only, the A-component appears as a thin discontinuous dark line. The results indicate that the A-component is a structural component of the partition and supports the hypothesis that chlorophyll and the hydrophibic lipids are localized there.

Summary The ultrastructure of isolated mesophyll chloroplasts ofZea mays L. was studied using the shadow casting technique. Grana and interconnecting fret membranes were observed in the same basic arrangement as they appear in thin sections. Quantasome units, as previously described by other authors for other species, were detected. Portions of the peripheral reticulum and envelope were also observed. Swollen membranes, comparable to those observed when isolated plastids are placed in water, were frequent in the preparations. It can be assumed, then, that in any preparation of this nature the hydrophillic spaces will absorb a large amount of water, swelling the intramembranous spaces and giving the membranes the appearance of large vesicles which will appear as flattened sacs when dried on the electron microscope grids. As there is no indication of any quantasome pattern in these membranes it is assumed that the particle arrangement of these membranes was altered during the procedure. It was not possible to determine whether the membranes observed in the swollen vesicles belonged to the grana or frets. A change in the morphology of the membranes during the processing may be observed with the light microscope. Recognition of this change is frequently difficult in electron micrographs, consequently, membranes with similar appearance under the electron microscope may actually have arisen from different portions of the plastid membrane systems.

The presence of subunits in chloroplast membranes is suggested by polarization, fluorescence, and X‐ray studies. Subunits (quantasomes) may be observed in the electron microscope on dried shadowed membranes and in replicas of membranes produced by the freeze‐etching technique. Regular subunits are also observed with the electron microscope in thin sections of chloroplast membranes. Chemical considerations suggest that many membranes are composed of lipoprotein subunits. Thin sections reveal two types of chloroplast membranes, the fret membranes composed of one layer of subunits, and the partitions composed of two layers of subunits. Chloroplast membranes consist of about 45% protein and 55% lipid. Some 80% of the lipids are the highly surfactant glycolipids. In this paper the subunits are visualized as assymetric lipoproteins, probably having a protein core surrounded by components determined by the nature and environment of the membrane. Since the stroma, fret channels, and loculi contain aqueous materials, it is further postulated that the membranes bordering these spaces bind the highly surfactant glycolipids. The region between the two rows of subunits in the partition appears to be highly hydrophobic, rich in chlorophyll, and low in glycolipids. Some chlorophyll also may occur within the subunits both in the partitions and in the fret membranes. Since four subunits appear to comprise a quantasome, at least two types of forces, inter‐ and intra‐quantasome forces, bind the subunits together in sheets. Chloroplast membranes thus differ from a “unit membrane” in two important respects: (1) they must be an aggregate of globular subunits, and (2) the lipoprotein subunits consist of a protein matrix which binds the chlorophylls and lipids by hydrophobic association with their hydrocarbon moieties.

Particles having ribosome-like characteristics are described in proplastids of dark-grown wheat seedlings as the membranes of the prolamellar body become transformed, under the influence of light, into grana and fret membranes. Three arrangements of particles were noted: (1) a random distribution of discrete particles; (2) particles occurring in helices or parallel rows; and (3) particles arranged in rough squares with six to eight particles per side. It is possible that the third type of particle is a cross-section of long parallel rods. A particle ranges in size from 170 to 220 A, those of group three being somewhat smaller. The particulates vary from diamond shaped with smooth surfaces to circular with irregular surfaces. These particles have the characteristics of ribosomes as visualized by the electron microscope: they are preserved by glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide, they stain intensely with uranyl acetate, and are digested by RNase. Their properties do not coincide with those of viruses, smog-induced particles, stromacenter particles, or phytoferritin. They are frequently adjacent to membranes but never attached to membranes. The involvement of ribosomes in membrane development is discussed.

Liquid metal batteries are possible candidates for massive and economically feasible large-scale stationary storage and as such could be key components of future energy systems based mainly or exclusively on intermittent renewable electricity sources. The completely liquid interior of liquid metal batteries and the high current densities give rise to a multitude of fluid flow phenomena that will primarily influence the operation of future large cells, but might be important for today's smaller cells as well. The paper at hand starts with a discussion of the relative merits of using molten salts or ionic liquids as electrolytes for liquid metal cells and touches the choice of electrode materials. This excursus into electrochemistry is followed by an overview of investigations on magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in liquid metal batteries, namely the Tayler instability and electromagnetically excited gravity waves. A section on electro-vortex flows complements the discussion of flow phenomena. Focus of the flow related investigations lies on the integrity of the electrolyte layer and related critical parameters.