title: Thermal torsion of F-actin.
abstract: The equipartition theorem is used to calculate the mode amplitudes for F-actin thermal torsion. The amplitudes phi n are found to scale as n-1, (EI)-1/2, and L1/2, where n is mode number, EI is actin bending stiffness, and L is filament length. Depending on conditions, the amplitude can be as large as 15 degrees; this is discussed briefly in terms of skeletal muscle mechanics.
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D000199:Actins