A crayfish giant axon has radius

PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Biophysics & Medical Physics · Bioelectricity, the senses and the physics of the body · Bioelectricity, the senses and the physics of the body

Forces, Machines and Signals, Ch The nerve impulse

Problem

A crayfish giant axon has radius a=10 μma = 10\,\mu\mathrm{m}, specific membrane resistance Rm=800 Ω cm2R_m = 800\,\Omega\,\mathrm{cm^2}, specific membrane capacitance Cm=1 μF cm−2C_m = 1\,\mu\mathrm{F\,cm^{-2}} and specific axial (intracellular) resistivity Ri=60 Ω cmR_i = 60\,\Omega\,\mathrm{cm}. Treating the axon as a passive, uniform cylindrical cable, calculate its length constant λ\lambda and its time constant τ\tau.

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