The Physics of how the Myelin Sheath actually works.

[MichaelXY]

If you consider the properties of a capacitor, you have two metal plates seperated by a diaelectric component. The metal plates have a pos charge on one plate, and a neg charge on the other plate. These two plates are seperated by a dielectric space (meaning non conductive. When the charges on one plate become imbalanced with the charges on the other plate, the electrons begin to move in order to reach equilibrium. The movement of the electron charges is current flow. Now the sheath can be seen as the dielectric. The plates could be likened to the Ranvier nodes.

I have a feeling some may not like me analogy, but I think it is close.

[Nebulae]

I think it would actually look something more like this:



Series of 3 circuits (except I think the second circuit would be an open circuit, since there are no leak channels in the middle)
I crossposted this from the xkcd forums, since no one there was able to definitely answer it
http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 12#p549012

[mith]

lol, the xkcd forum

[Nebulae]

Hey now, it's an awesome awesome forum (and webcomic too), very intelligent folk all around (more physicists, hackers, and mathematicians though). Nerdy and witty humor abounds. Very entertaining.

Are you a grad student at Berkeley by any chance?

[mith]

undergrad, bioe

[Nebulae]

Same, how serendipitous.

I'm only a sophomore though, what have/are you taking? (I'm taking MCB 130, 100a, and math 53. Planning on dropping in on MCB 230 starting tommorow). I'm thinking of just crashing a Mcb 160 (Molecular neuro) lecture one day, and asking the prof after class.