A vibrational model of the excitable membrane.
A hypothesis is proposed which attributes the dynamic behaviour of the excitable biological membrane to postulated thermal vibrations of polar molecules in the membrane. It is suggested that these vibrations constitute the physical pumping mechanism for active transport and are also the seat of excitability. To illustrate the latter property the construction of a working mechanical model of coupled oscillators is described producing impulses which resemble the behaviour of the nerve impulse in all major aspects. A reinterpretation of this and some other prominent properties of the membrane is attempted in the light of the hypothesis.
D004735:Energy Transfer; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D008566:Membranes / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009431:Neural Conduction; D014732:Vibration