Deadly, and DUMB!, Visual Experiment  [new page, added May 18, 2009]

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One of my goals in doing eye research was to devise experiments that no one had ever done before. I have only come up with three, so far:  the rotated image, vibration and the centrifuge. The centrifuge is the one that almost killed me. Because the rotated image experiments had given me a 5 diopter increase in my myopia, I was anxious to find a means to reverse this. One of the nice things about independent research is that you don't have to waste time trying to convince some committee to give you a grant to do what you want to do. You can just do it. So, I offer the following amusing--but true--account.

The familiar concept that myopic eyes tend to have greater axial length* suggested an idea: Myopic eyes are long, so, what's the problem? Why not just shorten them? A search of the literature indicated that apparently no one had ever suggested this, let alone made the attempt. I quickly rejected any mechanical means, such as weights or some sort of calipers to compress the eyeball longitudinally. The obvious answer was centrifugal force, applied so as to push the eyeball from the front. The subject would sit in a chair mounted on a revolving base, facing inward toward the center of rotation. As the speed increases, so does the centrifugal force exerted on the eyeball. Not only would this shorten the eyeball, I thought it would have the serendipitous effect of flattening the cornea, an additional advantage.

I made a rough sketch of the device and found a machine shop whose owner gave me a good price to produce the various parts. I bought a variable-speed direct-current electric motor and assembled the device in a rented garage. The chair in which the subject sat (me--I couldn't find anyone else dumb enough to do this) was of heavy welded steel, firmly braced with steel aircraft cable. Opposite the chair was a counterweight equal to the weight of the chair and subject. The total weight was more than 2,000 lbs. I grandly christened my device the "Optifuge".

The first trials were inconclusive because I kept the rotational speed very low until I got used to the very unpleasant effects of vertigo and nausea. I had made numerous calculations to determine what speed would produce a given number of g's. Two g's (which meant that my body weight became twice that of normal) was fairly uncomfortable but bearable. I had originally thought only about exerting g forces on the eyes, forgetting their effect on my entire body. Nevertheless, I was able to gradually increase the speed. Spinning round and round in a circle, with a diameter of about seven feet, everything was a complete blur even at lower speeds of 20-30 rpm.

I was eventually able to increase the speed to over 100 rpm, equal to some 5 g's. This was so painful that I could only bear one or two minutes before having to shut down. At five g's my normal body weight of 185 pounds was equal to 925 pounds. The centrifugal force was so great that it took all my strength to move my arm from my chest out some eight inches in order to reach the shutoff switch. This switch was controlled by a nylon cord that hung down from the ceiling directly in the center of rotation, so that it could be reached no matter where I was within the circle of rotation.

I also had a secondary shut-off switch actuated by a timer, which I would usually set to turn off the Optifuge automatically in case I was unable to do it manually.

I used this device almost daily for several months, and although I did note some changes in visual acuity, which I thought were due to either axial shortening or corneal flattening, or, more likely, both, I eventually concluded that the idea was a failure. And even if it had succeeded in curing or reducing myopia, few people would be willing to do this.

However, before I terminated the project I had a life-threatening experience. Since I always used the manual shut-off switch to stop the rotation, I didn't pay much attention to the backup switch. It was a cheap spring-loaded device that I had bought in a hardware store. The time setting was done by a pointer that was rotated clockwise around a dial until the time was set--5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. As the dial was turned to set the time, the spring tightened. The greater the time limit set, the tighter the spring wound.

However, I noticed (but didn't think much about it at the time) that if I set the timer to only one minute or so, the spring was barely tightened and sometimes didn't have enough tension to fully turn the point back to zero, so that sometimes the switch wouldn't shut off.

One day I decided to go for the maximum number of g's, and pre-set the motor speed for 120 rpm. In about 20 seconds I decided I couldn't take it anymore and reached for the cord to shut down. Unfortunately, the high rotational speed produced strong air currents that swung the cord, even though weighted at the end with a piece of metal, away from the center. On my second attempt at grabbing it I instead hit it with my hand and knocked it upward where it got hooked on one of the wooden roof beams, totally out of reach! Was I scared? Terrified was more like it. I was alone and no one knew where I was. The g forces were so painful that I didn't think I could last more than a minute or two. Also, because blood is forced toward the occipital area of the brain and starves the frontal area, I felt that I was going to black out very soon.

If I had managed to get out of the chair (very unlikely), I would have been thrown against the wall doing about 40 miles an hour. Because I had set the timer for only about two minutes, I immediately remembered how it had failed a few times in the past when set for short time periods. After what seemed like FOREVER, I heard the beautiful sound of a faint click as it switched off and the electric motor began slowing and then came to a gradual stop. Whew!

Since I wanted to continue a few weeks more, as a safety measure I had the machine shop build a stainless steel cylinder, about 10 feet high, which was bolted onto the base of the machine. I now had a futuristic rocket-appearing device that looked more professional. I used it a few more times but eventually decided to abandon the project.

Anyone want to buy a used Optifuge? Excellent condition, low miles. Cheap :-)

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*Actually, this is an oversimplification, as Steiger explains (Die Entstehung der Spharischen Refraktionen des menschlichen Auges. Berlin: S. Karger, 1913).

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