Cooperative Quantum Effect Modeling a Living Cell
Abstract
We propose a simple model of a living cell based on a cooperative quantum effect . Two autocatalyic chemicals in a solution of substrate interact to form a coherent aggregate. This is a stable object with a negative energy spectrum.(R.W. Finkel, Nuovo Cimento, 221B, 41 (1978)) In its most primitive form it needs no cell membrane or wall to cohere. The "cell" grows by accretion given a sufficient substrate concentration. It reproduces by fission into two equal parts upon reaching a critical size (determined by masking substrate flow to the interior). Cellular locomotion is simulated by a spontaneous motion into higher substrate concentrations to favor lower energy levels. We examine the statistical mechanics of this dynamic open system(R.W. Finkel and J. Joseph, Nuovo Cimento, 79B, 155, (1984)) in order to develop some crude estimates for the three basic rate constants in the model.
- Publication:
-
APS Southeastern Section Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- November 1997
- Bibcode:
- 1997APS..SES..DD14F