From: Jhumki Basu (sjbasu@hotmail.com)
Date: Sat Nov 17 2001 - 02:29:21 PST
From: "Jhumki Basu" <sjbasu@hotmail.com> Subject: Nervous system and voltage Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 02:29:21 Message-ID: <F68EALFgCtylySOp8dN00015654@hotmail.com>
Hello,
I'm trying to teach students what happens inside a nerve cells when signals
are transmitted. The sources I am reading suggest that the inside of cell
has a potential relative to the outside of the cell. The value of this
potential is -70mV.
Should I think about this voltage as I do the voltage in a battery? Are
electrons getting potential energy from a chemical reaction? What electrons
are getting this energy? I can only find information about sodium, potassium
and calcium ions.
So, in short, I'm trying to figure out how the transmission in neurons
relates to what I know about electrical circuits. I'd appreciate any input.
Thanks,
Jhumki Basu
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Mon Aug 05 2002 - 09:21:38 PDT