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A nerve signal is transmittedthrough a neuron when an excess of Na+ ions suddenly enters the axon,a long cylindrical part of the neuron. Axons are approximately 10.0 mmin diameter, and measurements show that about 5.6 * 1011 Na+ ions permeter (each of charge +e) enter during this process. Although the axonis a long cylinder, the charge does not all enter everywhere at the sametime. A plausible model would be a series of point charges moving alongthe axon. Consider a 0.10 mm length of the axon and model it as a pointcharge. (a) If the charge that enters each meter of the axon gets distributeduniformly along it, how many coulombs of charge enter a 0.10 mmlength of the axon? (b) What electric field (magnitude and direction)does the sudden influx of charge produce at the surface of the body ifthe axon is 5.00 cm below the skin? (c) Certain sharks can respond toelectric fields as weak as 1.0 mN/C. How far from this segment of axoncould a shark be and still detect its electric field?

A nerve signal is transmittedthrough a neuron when an excess of Na+ ions suddenly enters the axon,a long cylindrical part of the neuron. Axons are approximately 10.0 mmin diameter, and measurements show that about 5.6 * 1011 Na+ ions permeter (each of charge +e) enter during this process. Although the axonis a long cylinder, the charge does not all enter everywhere at the sametime. A plausible model would be a series of point charges moving alongthe axon. Consider a 0.10 mm length of the axon and model it as a pointcharge. (a) If the charge that enters each meter of the axon gets distributeduniformly along it, how many coulombs of charge enter a 0.10 mmlength of the axon? (b) What electric field (magnitude and direction)does the sudden influx of charge produce at the surface of the body ifthe axon is 5.00 cm below the skin? (c) Certain sharks can respond toelectric fields as weak as 1.0 mN/C. How far from this segment of axoncould a shark be and still detect its electric field?

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A nerve signal is transmitted
through a neuron when an excess of Na+ ions suddenly enters the axon,
a long cylindrical part of the neuron. Axons are approximately 10.0 mm
in diameter, and measurements show that about 5.6 * 1011 Na+ ions per
meter (each of charge +e) enter during this process. Although the axon
is a long cylinder, the charge does not all enter everywhere at the same
time. A plausible model would be a series of point charges moving along
the axon. Consider a 0.10 mm length of the axon and model it as a point
charge. (a) If the charge that enters each meter of the axon gets distributed
uniformly along it, how many coulombs of charge enter a 0.10 mm
length of the axon? (b) What electric field (magnitude and direction)
does the sudden influx of charge produce at the surface of the body if
the axon is 5.00 cm below the skin? (c) Certain sharks can respond to
electric fields as weak as 1.0 mN/C. How far from this segment of axon
could a shark be and still detect its electric field?

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