Chapter 10, Problem 47P

Full-circle rotation is common in mechanical systems, but less evident in biology. Yet many single-celled organisms are propelled by spinning, tail-like flagella. The flagellum of the bacterium E. coli spins at some 600 rad/s, propelling the bacterium at speeds around 25 μm/s. How many revolutions does E. coli’s flagellum make as the bacterium crosses a microscope’s field of view, which is 150-μm wide.