A model of a red blood cell portrays the cell as a spherical capacitor, a positi

Question

A model of a red blood cell portrays the cell as a spherical capacitor, a positively charged liquid sphere of surface area A separated from the surrounding negatively charged fluid by a membrane of thickness t. Tiny electrodes introduced into the interior of the cell show a potential difference of 100 mV across the membrane. The membrane's thickness is estimated to be 99 nm and has a dielectric constant of 5.00. (a) If an average red blood cell has a mass of 1e-12 kg, estimate the volume of the cell and thus find its surface area. The density of blood is 1100 kg/m3. volume = m3 surface area = m2 (b) Estimate the capacitance of the cell by assuming the membrane surfaces act as parallel plates. F (c) Calculate the charge on the surface of the membrane. C How many electronic (elementary) charges does the surface charge represent?

Explanation / Answer

I'm not sure how to do part b, but for part a: m = 1.1e-12 kg rho = 1100 kg/m3 V = m/rho = 1.1e-12/1100 = 1e-15 m3

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