Physics With Illustrative Examples From Medicine and Biology

1 The Coulomb Force; Electric Field; Electrostatic Potential; Electrostatic Energy.- 1.1 Electric Charge and Coulomb’s Law.- 1.2 The Electric Field.- 1.3 The Electrostatic Potential.- 1.4 Capacitors—Electrostatic Energy Storage.- 1.5 The Electrostatics of Nonconductors: Dielectrics and Electric Polarizability.- 1.6 Electrostatic Forces and Energy in Dielectric Media.- 1.7 References and Supplementary Reading.- 1.8 Problems.- 2 Electric Currents.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Current Flow, Electrical Resistance, Ohm’s Law, and the Dissipation of Electric Power.- 2.3 Conductivity of Electrolyte Solutions.- 2.4 Electrical Conductivity of Metals.- 2.5 Electrical Networks with Steady and Time-Varying Current Flow. Kirchhoff’s Laws. Resistance, Capacitance, and Operational Amplifier Circuits.- 2.6 The Electrical Determination of the Capacitance and the Thickness of the Cell Membrane.- 2.7 Charge and Current Flow in Three Dimensions: The Continuity Equation and Charge Neutrality: Quasi-Stationary Flow. Application to Lightning Bolts and Current Flow in the Earth.- 2.8 Electrocardiography.- 2.9 References and Supplementary Reading.- 2.10 Problems.- 3 Electrochemistry and Bioelectricity.- 3.1 The Diffusion of Ions and the Nernst-Planck Equation.- 3.2 Galvanic Cells; Electrodes; Electrochemical Measurements; pH Determination.- 3.3 Membrane Potentials. Biomembranes. Active Transport of Ions. Excitable Membranes and the Action Potential.- 3.4 References and Supplementary Reading.- 3.5 Problems.- 4 Electromagnetism.- 4.1 The Magnetic Field and Magnetic Force.- 4.2 Faraday’s Law of Induction.- 4.3 Maxwell’s Equations and Electromagnetic Waves.- 4.4 References and Supplementary Reading.- 4.5 Problems.- Table of Basic Constants.- Table of MKSA Units.