3. We can estimate the capacitance per unit area of a cell membrane by modeling the membrane as a parallel-plate capacitor. While this might seem like a crude a approximation, show that physiologically plausible values for the membrane thickness (roughly 7 nm) and dielectric con- stant (roughly 7) lead to a reasonable estimate of 1 μF/cm². (Since capacitance per unit area values on the order of 2 μF/cm² are typical for most cells, your estimate is surprisingly accurate!)

College Physics
11th Edition
ISBN:9781305952300
Author:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille
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Chapter1: Units, Trigonometry. And Vectors
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3. We can estimate the capacitance per unit area of a cell membrane by
modeling the membrane as a parallel-plate capacitor. While this might
seem like a crude a approximation, show that physiologically plausible
values for the membrane thickness (roughly 7 nm) and dielectric con-
stant (roughly 7) lead to a reasonable estimate of 1 μF/cm². (Since
capacitance per unit area values on the order of 2 μF/cm² are typical
for most cells, your estimate is surprisingly accurate!)
Transcribed Image Text:3. We can estimate the capacitance per unit area of a cell membrane by modeling the membrane as a parallel-plate capacitor. While this might seem like a crude a approximation, show that physiologically plausible values for the membrane thickness (roughly 7 nm) and dielectric con- stant (roughly 7) lead to a reasonable estimate of 1 μF/cm². (Since capacitance per unit area values on the order of 2 μF/cm² are typical for most cells, your estimate is surprisingly accurate!)
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