A spherical cell has diameter

PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Biophysics & Medical Physics · Physical foundations of the living cell · Physical foundations of the living cell

Life at Thermal Energy, Ch Random walks, diffusion and the crowded cell

Problem

A spherical cell has diameter 15 μm15\,\mathrm{\mu m}. Dissolved oxygen at one edge of the cell must reach the far edge by diffusion alone, with diffusion coefficient D=2.0×10−9 m2 s−1D = 2.0\times10^{-9}\,\mathrm{m^2\,s^{-1}} (the value for oxygen in water, used here for the cytoplasm). Treat the crossing as one-dimensional and ignore any consumption of oxygen inside the cell. Calculate the time for oxygen to diffuse across the diameter of the cell.

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