Semiconducting Electrical System
There are three basic types of electrical current. In the first, which most people are familiar with, electrons flow through a conductor, such as a metal wire.
Another type of current involves the flow of ions, which are atoms that have either a positive or a negative charge. These ions can be made to flow through a conducting solution.
As Robert Becker explained in Cross Currents, “Semiconductivity is a property of specific materials that have a crystal-like structure — that is, their atoms are arranged in a regular, lattice-like fashion. If an atom in the lattice has an extra electron, that electron is free to move through the rest of the lattice, hopping from one atom to the next. Likewise, if an atom lacks an electron, there is then a ‘hole’ in the lattice that can move in the same fashion.” (p. 39)
Becker carried out experiments to determine whether semiconduction plays a role in living cells. He demonstrated that the “electrical currents I was measuring from a variety of tissues, including nerve fibers, were actually semiconducting.” (ibid.)
As his research proceeded, Becker was able to show that there is a semiconducting direct current electrical system that plays a central role in the functioning of the central nervous system.