dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaAlice in a micro-factory: modeling materials and mechanisms of natural nano-machines
| Authors | Debashish Chowdhury |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0505107 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0505107 |
| Journal | Part 1: Resonance 12(1), 4 (2007); Part 2: Resonance 12(2), 39 (2007) |
Abstract
Imagine an under water factory which is about $10 \mu$m long in each direction. The factory is filled with machines, each typically a few tens of nanometers long, which perform specfic tasks and operate in a well coordinated manner. A cell, the structural and functional unit of life, is not very different from this micro-factory. In this article, I begin with Alice's guided tour of this micro-factory in her dream during which the guide shows her wide varieties of the nano-machines in this factory. The style of presentation of the first half of this article is inspired by Lewis Carrol's {\it Alice in Wonderland}. In the second half, I introduce the methods of studying the materials and mechanisms of the molecular machines through dialogues; the three participants in this discussion are Alice, her elder brother Alex and her father Albert. The style of presentation of the second half of this article, in terms of a dialogue, is adapted from Galileo's {\it Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems}. Albert, a professor of biophysics, emphasizes the crucial differences between the mechanisms of the natural nano-machines and those of their macroscopic counterparts. He also points out some practical applications of this interdisciplinary research in biomedical science and nano-technology.
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"abstract": "Imagine an under water factory which is about $10 \\mu$m long in each\ndirection. The factory is filled with machines, each typically a few tens of\nnanometers long, which perform specfic tasks and operate in a well coordinated\nmanner. A cell, the structural and functional unit of life, is not very\ndifferent from this micro-factory. In this article, I begin with Alice\u0027s guided\ntour of this micro-factory in her dream during which the guide shows her wide\nvarieties of the nano-machines in this factory. The style of presentation of\nthe first half of this article is inspired by Lewis Carrol\u0027s {\\it Alice in\nWonderland}. In the second half, I introduce the methods of studying the\nmaterials and mechanisms of the molecular machines through dialogues; the three\nparticipants in this discussion are Alice, her elder brother Alex and her\nfather Albert. The style of presentation of the second half of this article, in\nterms of a dialogue, is adapted from Galileo\u0027s {\\it Dialogue Concerning the Two\nChief World Systems}. Albert, a professor of biophysics, emphasizes the crucial\ndifferences between the mechanisms of the natural nano-machines and those of\ntheir macroscopic counterparts. He also points out some practical applications\nof this interdisciplinary research in biomedical science and nano-technology.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0505107",
"authors": [
"Debashish Chowdhury"
],
"categories": [
"physics.bio-ph",
"cond-mat.stat-mech",
"physics.pop-ph"
],
"journal_ref": "Part 1: Resonance 12(1), 4 (2007); Part 2: Resonance 12(2), 39\n (2007)",
"title": "Alice in a micro-factory: modeling materials and mechanisms of natural nano-machines",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0505107"
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