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assignment Homework
assignment Homework
The concentration of potassium \(\text{K}^+\) ions in the internal sap of a plant cell (for example, a fresh water alga) may exceed by a factor of \(10^4\) the concentration of \(\text{K}^+\) ions in the pond water in which the cell is growing. The chemical potential of the \(\text{K}^+\) ions is higher in the sap because their concentration \(n\) is higher there. Estimate the difference in chemical potential at \(300\text{K}\) and show that it is equivalent to a voltage of \(0.24\text{V}\) across the cell wall. Take \(\mu\) as for an ideal gas. Because the values of the chemical potential are different, the ions in the cell and in the pond are not in diffusive equilibrium. The plant cell membrane is highly impermeable to the passive leakage of ions through it. Important questions in cell physics include these: How is the high concentration of ions built up within the cell? How is metabolic energy applied to energize the active ion transport?
assignment Homework
assignment Homework
face Lecture
120 min.
chemical potential Gibbs distribution grand canonical ensemble statistical mechanics
These notes from the fifth week of Thermal and Statistical Physics cover the grand canonical ensemble. They include several small group activities.face Lecture
120 min.
paramagnet entropy temperature statistical mechanics
These lecture notes for the second week of Thermal and Statistical Physics involve relating entropy and temperature in the microcanonical ensemble, using a paramagnet as an example. These notes include a few small group activities.face Lecture
120 min.
phase transformation Clausius-Clapeyron mean field theory thermodynamics
These lecture notes from the ninth week of Thermal and Statistical Physics cover phase transformations, the Clausius-Clapeyron relation, mean field theory and more. They include a number of small group activities.computer Mathematica Activity
30 min.
group Small Group Activity
30 min.
group Small Group Activity
30 min.
Shown below is a contour plot of a scalar field, \(\mu(x,y)\). Assume that \(x\)
and \(y\) are measured in meters and that \(\mu\) is measured in kilograms.
Four points are indicated on the plot.