title: Microscopic folds and macroscopic jerks in compressed lipid monolayers.
abstract: We report hitherto unrecognized cooperative behavior in the stochastic collapse of certain compressed lipid monolayers implicated in pulmonary function. The cooperativity emerges from a statistical analysis of the collapse events captured using fluorescence microscopy and digital image analysis. The collapse events involve folding of the monolayer on a micron scale, yet each event produces a macroscopic jerk of the layer. The cooperative collapse is striking for its temporal sharpness and large spatial extent.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gopal
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Belyi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Diamant
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Witten
authors.forename: K Y C
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D013269:Stochastic Processes
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids