Electrons were injected from a 3.3-MeV 300-A accelerator into a circular orbit in a pulsed magnetic field. Trapped ring currents of 150 A (4 x 10{sup 12} electrons) were magnetically compressed from 19 cm to 3.5 cm radii and simultaneously accelerated from 3.3 MeV to 18 MeV in energy. The rms dimensions of the cross section of the ring after compression were a = 2.3 {+-} 0.2 mm radially and b = 1.6 {+-} 0.2 mm axially. The lifetime of the ring was typically 5.5 msec, and was determined by the decay of the magnetic field after compression. This lifetime could be decreased by the addition of hydrogen gas, indicating the focusing effect of the trapped positive ions.

There is now experimental evidence for selectivity between the amino acid and the nucleic acid base which is the beginning of the chemical translation process from one linear system to the other. The linear system of the nucleic acid is, of course, an excellent place to store the information, whereas the linear system of the polypeptide, on the other hand, is the versatile system which can perform many different types of reactions but is unable to store information reliably. The experiments the author has described here may represent the beginning of the method of coupling of those two essential qualities which are required for the generation and evolution of a living organism.