Flow Birefringence
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Flow Birefringence
In biochemistry, flow birefringence is a hydrodynamic technique for measuring the rotational diffusion constants (or, equivalently, the rotational drag coefficients). The birefringence of a solution sandwiched between two concentric cylinders is measured as a function of the difference in rotational speed between the inner and outer cylinders. The flow tends to orient an ellipsoidal particle (typically, a protein, virus, etc.) in one direction, whereas rotational diffusion (tumbling) causes the molecule to become disoriented. The equilibrium between these two processes as a function of the flow provides a measure of the axial ratio Axial ratio, for any structure or shape with two or more axes, is the ratio of the length (or magnitude) of those axes to each other - the longer axis divided by the shorter. In ''chemistry'' or ''materials science'', the axial ratio (symbol P) i ... of the ellipsoidal particle. See also * Perrin friction factors Protein structure {{Pr ...
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Biochemistry
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and metabolism. Over the last decades of the 20th century, biochemistry has become successful at explaining living processes through these three disciplines. Almost all areas of the life sciences are being uncovered and developed through biochemical methodology and research. Voet (2005), p. 3. Biochemistry focuses on understanding the chemical basis which allows biological molecules to give rise to the processes that occur within living cells and between cells, Karp (2009), p. 2. in turn relating greatly to the understanding of tissues and organs, as well as organism structure and function.Miller (2012). p. 62. Biochemistry is closely related to molecular biology, which is the study of the molecular mechanisms of biological phenomena.Ast ...
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Hydrodynamic
In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including '' aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) and hydrodynamics (the study of liquids in motion). Fluid dynamics has a wide range of applications, including calculating forces and moments on aircraft, determining the mass flow rate of petroleum through pipelines, predicting weather patterns, understanding nebulae in interstellar space and modelling fission weapon detonation. Fluid dynamics offers a systematic structure—which underlies these practical disciplines—that embraces empirical and semi-empirical laws derived from flow measurement and used to solve practical problems. The solution to a fluid dynamics problem typically involves the calculation of various properties of the fluid, such as flow velocity, pressure, density, and temperature, as functions of space and t ...
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Rotational Drag Coefficients
Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional object has an infinite number of possible central axes and rotational directions. If the rotation axis passes internally through the body's own center of mass, then the body is said to be ''autorotating'' or '' spinning'', and the surface intersection of the axis can be called a ''pole''. A rotation around a completely external axis, e.g. the planet Earth around the Sun, is called ''revolving'' or ''orbiting'', typically when it is produced by gravity, and the ends of the rotation axis can be called the ''orbital poles''. Mathematics Mathematically, a rotation is a rigid body movement which, unlike a translation, keeps a point fixed. This definition applies to rotations within both two and three dimensions (in a plane and in space, ...
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Birefringence
Birefringence is the optical property of a material having a refractive index that depends on the polarization and propagation direction of light. These optically anisotropic materials are said to be birefringent (or birefractive). The birefringence is often quantified as the maximum difference between refractive indices exhibited by the material. Crystals with non-cubic crystal structures are often birefringent, as are plastics under mechanical stress. Birefringence is responsible for the phenomenon of double refraction whereby a ray of light, when incident upon a birefringent material, is split by polarization into two rays taking slightly different paths. This effect was first described by Danish scientist Rasmus Bartholin in 1669, who observed it in calcite, a crystal having one of the strongest birefringences. In the 19th century Augustin-Jean Fresnel described the phenomenon in terms of polarization, understanding light as a wave with field components in transverse po ...
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Axial Ratio
Axial ratio, for any structure or shape with two or more axes, is the ratio of the length (or magnitude) of those axes to each other - the longer axis divided by the shorter. In ''chemistry'' or ''materials science'', the axial ratio (symbol P) is used to describe rigid rod-like molecules. It is defined as the length of the rod divided by the rod diameter. In ''physics'', the axial ratio describes electromagnetic radiation In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) consists of waves of the electromagnetic (EM) field, which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy. It includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, (visib ... with elliptical, or circular, polarization. The axial ratio is the ratio of the magnitudes of the major and minor axis defined by the electric field vector. See also * Aspect ratio * Degree of polarization Ratios Polymer physics {{materials-sci-stub ...
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Perrin Friction Factors
In hydrodynamics, the Perrin friction factors are multiplicative adjustments to the translational and rotational friction of a rigid spheroid, relative to the corresponding frictions in spheres of the same volume. These friction factors were first calculated by Jean-Baptiste Perrin. These factors pertain to spheroids (i.e., to ellipsoids of revolution), which are characterized by the axial ratio ''p = (a/b)'', defined here as the axial semiaxis ''a'' (i.e., the semiaxis along the axis of revolution) divided by the equatorial semiaxis ''b''. In prolate spheroids, the axial ratio ''p > 1'' since the axial semiaxis is longer than the equatorial semiaxes. Conversely, in oblate spheroids, the axial ratio ''p < 1'' since the axial semiaxis is shorter than the equatorial semiaxes. Finally, in s, the axial ratio ''p = 1'', since all three semiaxes are equal in length. ...
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