Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-biological-physics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2018/3/c/solution

Including both end faces of the perfect cylinder, with and ,
The membrane capacitance is . The required net inward electric charge is , or monovalent ions. If sodium supplies that net electric charge, Faraday constant gives
The final concentration is about , only above the starting value. Neglecting the end faces changes the estimate by , giving about . Over the capacitive electric charge corresponds to mean net electric current ; the duration does not otherwise enter the total electric charge.
This is a net capacitive estimate, not a measurement of total sodium influx. Simultaneous outward potassium electric current makes actual sodium entry larger, and most bulk ions remain near their original concentrations during one spike. Long-term pumps restore gradients after repeated firing; they are not required to replace the entire intracellular sodium pool during the two-millisecond voltage rise.

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