'Continuity equation requires knowledge' presentation slideshows

From Maxwell to Mitochondria

Applying the Maxwell equations to mitochondria seems a hopeless task: there is so much complexity. But computers and their chips are nearly as complicated. Design of circuits is done every day by uncounted numbers of engineers and scientists, thanks to Kirchoff's Current Law, which is a conservation law in one dimensional (branched) systems of devices. Kirchoff's current law conserves flux, not current in its usual derivation. But Maxwell's equations do not conserve flux; they conserve total current. Total current J equals flux plus displacement current J eps_0 partial E/partial t . Maxwell's definition of current allows circuit laws to be applied to complex systems of devices, over a wide range of times and conditions. Channels and enzymes are devices because they localize current flow. Channels and enzymes can be analyzed by the methods of circuit theory, for that reason.

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