On the cyclotron resonance model of ion transport.
The cyclotron-resonance model, which has been suggested as an explanation of a purported enhancement of transport of ions through the membranes of cells exposed to weak, low-frequency-modulated RF fields, is shown to be inconsistent with basic physical principles. Under the conditions of the model, in which the ions are presumed to circulate under the constraint of the earth's magnetic field, the radii of gyration of the ions would approximate 50 m and, thus, are much larger than the cells. Moreover, from general considerations, the collision-damping time of such ions is expected to be less than 10(-10) s, much smaller than the times of the order of 10(-2) s, shown to be necessary if the conditions for low-frequency resonance are to be satisfied.
Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511.
J
J
Sandweiss
D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological
D007473:Ion Channels