title: Physical properties of Onsager's dipole chain model for ionic transport across membranes. I. Steady-state fluxes and instabilities.
abstract: The steady-state fluxes in Onsager's model for ionic transport along a dipole chain are derived by application of Hill's diagrammatic technique for unimolecular systems. It is shown that under specific conditions the chain exhibits thermodynamic instabilities which prove to be a possible explanation for the phenomenon of electrical excitation in biological membranes.
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004560:Electricity; D007477:Ions; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008433:Mathematics; D008566:Membranes; D008954:Models, Biological; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D046911:Macromolecular Substances