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 102 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

Explanation / Answer

m = 1.1e-12 kg rho = 1100 kg/m3 V = m/rho = 1.1e-12/1100 = 1e-15 m3

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