The equilibrium Nernst potential plays a critical role in neural cell dynamics. A common approximation used in studying electrical dynamics of excitable cells is that the ionic concentrations inside and outside the cell membranes act as charge reservoirs and remain effectively constant during excitation events. Research into brain electrical activity suggests that relaxing this assumption may p...

The vortex-Nernst effect is a highly sensitive probe for detecting vortex motion in a type II superconductor [1]. In the past 3 years, we have used it to map out the region in the fieldtemperature (H-T ) plane in which vorticity may be observed [2,3,4,5]. The results provide a fresh perspective on the cuprate phase diagram which we sketch here. When a superconductor (in the vortex-liquid state)...

Two different analyses of impedance data obtained from ultra-pure water allowed to equilibrate with the atmosphere have recently appeared. They both thus show much smaller low-frequency resistances than does ultra-pure water. Different fitting models were used in these analyses and led to appreciably different parameter estimates from their data fits. Their two “pure” water experimental data se...

With a microfluidic droplet-based liquid/liquid extraction setup, we demonstrate that the extraction of an ionic analyte from complex matrices can be modulated by the interfacial Galvani potential difference and the extraction equilibrium follows the classical Nernst equation.

Phenomenological equations describing the Seebeck, Hall, Nernst, Peltier, Ettingshausen, and Righi-Leduc effects are numerically solved for the temperature, electric current, and electrochemical potential distributions of semiconductors under magnetic field. The results are compared to experiments.

The purpose of the Perspectives in General Physiology is to provide a forum where scientific uncertainties or controversies can be discussed in an authoritative, yet open manner. The Perspectives are solicited by the editors—often based on recommendations by the advisory editors or members of the editorial board, who may be asked to coordinate the process. To frame the issue, two or more expert...

We compute the intrinsic contributions to the Berry-phase mediated anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in electronand hole-doped semiconductors in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field as well as Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings. For both systems we find that the regime of chemical potential which supports the topological superconducting state in the presence of the superconductin...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Chapter 1 Preliminary concepts and literature review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1.1 Cellular excitability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 1.1.1 Membranes, ionic gradients, and transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 1.1.2 Electrical signaling and action potentials . . . . . . . . . . ...

The conventional Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations do not account for the finite size of ions explicitly. This leads to solutions featuring unrealistically high ionic concentrations in the regions subject to external potentials, in particular, near highly charged surfaces. A modified form of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations accounts for steric effects and results in solutions with finite ion c...

In this paper we developed accurate finite element methods for solving 3-D Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) equations with singular permanent charges for electrodiffusion in solvated biomolecular systems. The electrostatic Poisson equation was defined in the biomolecules and in the solvent, while the Nernst-Planck equation was defined only in the solvent. We applied a stable regularization scheme to...