Physical Units, Constants and Conversion

Factors

Here we regroup the values of the most useful physical and chemical constants used
in the book. Also some practical combinations of such constants are provided. Units
are expressed in the International System (SI), and conversion to the older CGS
system is also given. For most quantities and units, the practical definitions currently
used in the context of biophysics are also shown.

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 609

F. Cleri, The Physics of Living Systems, Undergraduate Lecture
Notes in Physics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-30647-6
610 Physical units, constants and conversion factors

Basic physical units (boldface indicates SI fundamental units)

SI cgs Biophysics
Length (L) meter (m) centimeter (cm) Angstrom (Å)
1 0.01 m 10−10 m
Time (T) second (s) second (s) 1 µs = 10−6 s
1 1 1 ps = 10−12 s
Mass (M) kilogram (kg) gram (g) Dalton (Da)
1 0.001 kg 1/N Av = 1.66 · 10−27 kg
Frequency (T−1 ) s−1 Hz
1 1
Velocity (L/T) m/s cm/s µm/s
1 0.01 m/s 10−6 m/s
Acceleration (L/T2 ) m/s2 cm/s2 µm/s2
1 0.01 m/s2 10−6 m/s2
Force (ML/T2 ) newton (N) dyne (dy) pN
1 kg · m/s2 10−5 N 10−12 N
Energy, work, heat joule (J) erg k B T (at T = 300 K)
(ML2 /T2 ) 1 kg · m2 /s2 10−7 J 4.114 pN · nm
0.239 cal 0.239 · 10−7 cal 25.7 meV
1C·1V 1 mol ATP = 30.5 kJ = 7.3 kcal/mol
Power (ML2 /T3 ) watt (W) erg/s ATP/s
1 kg · m2 /s3 = 1 J/s 10−7 J/s 0.316 eV/s
Pressure (M/LT2 ) pascal (Pa) atm Blood osmolarity
1 N/m2 1013̇25 Pa ∼ 300 mmol/kg
1 bar = 105 Pa ∼300 Pa = 3 · 10−3 atm
Electric current (A) ampere (A) e.s.u. Transmembrane
1 2.998 · 109 A current ∼1-2 mA/cm2
Electric charge (A/T) coulomb (C) statCoulomb (stC)
1 A·s 2.998 · 109 C
Electric volt (V) statCoulomb (stC) Neuron action potential
potential (ML2 /T3 A) 1 W/A 2.998 · 109 C ∼ 100 mV
Electrical ohm () statOhm (st) Cell membrane (with K+
resistance (ML2 /T3 A2 ) 1 V/A 1.11265 · 10−12  and Na+ channels)
1-2 k · µm2
Temperature (K) kelvin (K) celsius (◦ C)
1 1
Physical units, constants and conversion factors 611

Useful physical constants and their combinations

Avogadro’s number, N Av = 6.0221409 × 1023 mol−1

Atomic mass unit,
Boltzmann’s constant,
Planck’s constant,
Stefan-Boltzmann’s constant,
Gas constant,
Molar volume at STP
Speed of light,
Elementary charge,
Vacuum dielectric constant,
Coulomb’s constant,
Faraday’s constant,
m u = 121
m(12 C) = 1.66053904 × 10−27 kg
k B = 1.3806485 × 10−23 J/K (joule/kelvin degree) = 8.617×10−5 eV/K
h = 6.62607 × 10−34 J s = 4.132 eV/fs,  = h/2π
σ = 5.670367 × 10−8 W/(m2 K4 )
R = 8.31446 J/(K· mol) = 1.987 cal/(K· mol) = N Av · k B
Vm = 22.414 litre/mol
c = 2.99792458 × 108 m/s
e = 1.60217662 × 10−19 C (coulomb)
ε0 = 8.854 · 10−12 F/m (faraday/metre)
K c = 1/(4πε0 ) = 8.9875 × 109 N m2 C−2
F = 96485.309 C/mol
m u c2 = 1.4924 × 10−10 J = 931.494 MeV
K c e2 = 2.3071 × 10−28 J m = 1.44 eV nm
c = 3.1615 × 1026 J m = 197.33 eV nm
RT = k B T × N Av = 2.479 kJ/mol (at 300 K)
h/k B T = 0.16 ps (at 300 K)

Useful conversion factors (with some old-fashioned units)

To convert from: To: Multiply by:

radian degree arc 57.29578
angstrom nanometer 0.1
light-year metre (m) 9.461 × 1015
cm3 litre 0.001
eV joule (J) 1.6021 × 10−19
eV (wavelength) cm−1 8,065.73
eV (wavelength) nanometer 1,239.84
teraHertz (THz = 1012 Hz) meV (wavelength) 4.13567
standard atmosphere kilopascal (kPa) 101.325
bar kilopascal (kPa) 100
millimeter of mercury (at 0 ◦ C) kilopascal (kPa) 0.1333224
millimeter of water (at 4 ◦ C) pascal (Pa) 9.80665
pound/sq.inch (lb/in2 , psi) pascal (Pa) 6,900
centipoise (viscosity) pascal-second (Pa s) 0.001
horse-power (hP) watt (W) 746
kilowatt-hour (kWh) megajoule (MJ) 3.6
calorie joule (J) 4.184
eV kcal/mole 23.0609
gauss tesla (T) 0.0001
weber/sq.metre tesla (T) 1
ampere-hour coulomb (C) 3,600
Index

A ATP, adenosine triphosphate, 78, 113, 188,

Accretion mechanism, 496 206, 209, 221, 240, 264, 276, 357,
Acetylation, 107 430
Actin, 193, 207, 261 Autocatalysis, 507
monomer (G-actin), 226 Autocatalytic reaction, 80
polymerisation, 226 Avalon explosion, 90
polymerisation speed, 227 Average curvature, surface, 486
treadmilling effect, 228 Avogadro’s number, 11
Action potentia Axoplasm, 271
Hodgkin-Huxley experiment, 280
Action potential, 262, 275, 278
in muscle, 442 B
plants, 303 Bacterial DNA, 71
post-synaptic, 291 Ballot theorem, 179
propagation speed, 282 Bartel and Szostak experiment, 80
Basal metabolic rate, 138
subthreshold, 285
Bending modulus
wave-like propagation, 284
of a rmembrane, 325
Active transport, 264
of a rod, 324, 326
Adiabatic transformation, 14
Bilateral symmetry, 505
Adipocytes, 147
Binomial distribution, 66
Adiposomes, 147
Biodiversity, 554
ADP, adenosine diphosphate, 113, 215, 430 abundance, 563
Albedo, Earth surface, 39 richness, 563
Allometry, 529 Bio-geochemical cycle, 557
Amino acid, 105 Biomass, 555
Amphiphilic molecule, 169, 337 Biomass, upper bound for a species, 561
Anaerobic glycolysis, 134 Biosphere, 30
Ancient Greek medial school, 96 Biosynthesis
Antiporter, ion channel, 134 clay hypothesis, 89
Apex predator, 555 iron-sulphur hypothesis, 89
Aquaporin, see ion channel Biot number, 143
Archimedean tiling, 488 Biphasic material, 387
Argentavis, 538 Biphasic model, human tissues, 390
Arrhenius law, of biodiversity, 563 Bistable oscillator, 439
Asakura and Oosawa experiment, 169 Black body, 41
Aspect ratio, 484 Body plan, 90, 505
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 613
F. Cleri, The Physics of Living Systems, Undergraduate Lecture
Notes in Physics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-30647-6
614 Index

Boiling point, 55 Chromatin, 101, 356

Boltzmann Chromosome, 101, 356
constant, 17 Chronaxy, 278
entropy definition, 19 Cilium, 236
entropy equation, 62 Clausius, irreversible transformation, 18
kinetic theory of gas, 25 Clausius, thermodynamic entropy, 23
Boltzmann factor, 216, 345 Claverie and Rault, see mimivirus
Bond number, 481 Clay hypothesis, see biosynthesis
Bone size scaling, 537 Clock-and-wavefront model, 511
Brain plasticity, 292 Closed ecosystem, see ecology
Brain-blood barrier, 188 Closed system, 20
Brittle, material, 374 Codon, 105
Brown fat, 147 Coenzymes, 151
Brownian motion Cohesin, 356
and membrane diffusion, 180 Cohesin, motor protein, 357
early experiments, 178 Colloid, 169
Einstein’s equations, 205 Competition, between species, 550
rectified, 216 Condensin, 356
Smoluchowski problem, 179 Condensin, motor protein, 357
Bulk modulus, 371 Conductance, neuron membrane, 269
Buoyancy force, 537 Constant, vector field, 50
Constitutive relation, 370
Contour length, 174
C Cortical tension, see membrane
Calvin’s cycle, see photosynthesis Cost of transport, 541
Cambrian explosion, 90 Coupled oscillators, 513
Cantilever, 444 Creatine phosphate, 146
Capillarity, 478 Creep, 377
meniscus, 479 Crescentin, bacterial protein, 351
Capillarity length, 481 Cross bridges, sarcomere, 425
Carbohydrates, 153 Crowding agents, 172
furanose, 154 Cryptochrome, 257
monosaccharide, 153 Curl, see rotor
pyranose, 154 Current summation, synaptic, 293
Carbon cycle, 558 Cyclic machine, 207, 213
Cardiac index, 139 ratchet, 216
Carnot, cyclic thermal engine, 18 Cytoskeleton, 244
Carrying capacity, 546 actin, 193
Catalyser, see enzyme centromere, 193
Catalytic efficiency, enzyme, 234 microtubules, 193
Cell cycle, 354 spectrin, 195
Cell nucleus, 337
Cellulose, 397
Central Dogma, 100 D
Centromere, 101 Damping coefficient, aerodynamic, 448
Chaotic system, see deterministic chaos Debye-Huckel approximation, 175
Chemical potential, 27 Debye length, 175
Chemiosmotic theory, 120 Debye repulsion, screening, 173
Chlamydomonas, unicellular alga, 189, 255 Deformation (elastic) energy, 416
Chlorophyll, 476 Dendritic spines, 292
Cholesterol, 199 Depletion force, 169
Chondrocyte, 386 Depolarisation, membrane, 270
Chromatid, 101 Deterministic chaos, 547
Index 615

butterfly effect, 548 closed ecosystem, 556

critical bifurcation, 548 food chain, 555
loss of information, 548 mobile ecosystem, 556
Lyapunov exponent, 548 trophic level, 555
Lyapunov time, 548 Ecosystem
Diastole, heart contraction, 296 producers versus consumers, 555
Diffusion Ectoderm, 505
across membrane, 176 Edema, tissue, 187
Diffusion coefficient, 177, 191, 205 Elastic compliance, 409
Diffusion equation, 180 Elastic constant, 409
Dinosaurs Elastic energy, storage, 535
extinction, 95, 539 Elastic moduli
running speed, 458 bulk modulus, 411
Diodora aspera, gastropod, 191 Lamé parameters, 410
Diploblastic, body plan, 505 Poisson’s ratio, 414
Dipole moment, 167 shear modulus, 412
Dirac delta function, 45 Young’s modulus, 412
Divergence angle, 515 Elastic modulus, 370
Divergence, of a vector, 49 Electric permittivity, relative, 312
DNA Electrocardiogram, 300
exon, 77, 103 Endoderm, 505
Franklin and Wilkins x-ray diffraction, Endoergic, reaction, 69
97 Endoplasmic reticulum, 337
grooves, major and minor, 100 Energy accumulation rate, 543
intron, 77, 103 Energy barrier, 213
methylation, 107, 108 Energy budget, 543
mismatch, 99 Energy surface, 213
Nirenberg and Khorana genetic code, 97 England’s theory, maximum dissipation, 82
nucleoside, 99 Enthalpy, 27
nucleotide, 98 Entropic force, see generalised force
Watson and Crick model, 97 Entropy
Drag coefficient, 206 information, 36
Drag force negative, 36
in rotation, 240 Environmental pressure, 561
Stokes coefficient, 239 Enzymatic cycles, 124
Drosophila melanogaster, fruit fly, 257, 260, Enzyme, 126
428, 510 Epigenetic modification, 106
Ductile, material, 374 Equation of continuity, 180
Dulong and Petit, specific heat, 22 Equilibrium constant, 127
Dutch famine, 1944, 108 Equilibrium, statistical postulate, 12
Dynamic range, neuron, 295 Equipartition of energy, law, 22
Dynamometer, 419 Erythrocyte, red blood cell, 193
Dynein, 207, 237 Escherichia coli, bacterium, 71, 72, 104, 124,
174, 248, 328, 351, 353
Euchromatin, 101
E Euglenid, 242
Ecological niche, 537 euglenoid motion, 242
Ecology, 544 Euler equation, 404
automatic regulatory mechanism, 562 beam flexion, 404
bioaccumulation, 557 cantilever bending, 404
biomagnification, 557 Eutrophisation, 560
biovectors, 557 Exclusive competition, principle, 552
circulating reserve, 555 Extensive variable, 10
616 Index

Extinction coefficient, 249 H

Extracellular potential, 281 Hagen-Poiseuille equation, 186, 483
Heart chambers, atrium, ventricle, 296
Heart vector, 301
F Heat capacity, 140
Fermentation, 135 Helmoltz free energy, 26, 82
Fermi-Dirac statistics, 172 Hemicellulose, 397
Fick’s laws, diffusion, 180 Heterochromatin, 101
Filtration coefficient, 186 Hexatic phase, 199
Flagelline, 237 Hill’s law, locomotion, 532, 534
Flagellum, 236 Hill’s law, muscle contraction, 429
and Type-III system, 237 Histone, 101, 356
axoneme, 237 acetylation, 107
proton pump, 237 Homochirality, amino acids, 89
Fluctuation therem, 82 Hydraulic resistance, 186
Foraminiferan, 95 Hydrodynamic radius, see polymer
Fountain effect, liquid He, 477 Hydrogen bond, 167
Fourier series, 53 Hydrolysis, 116, 150
Fourier transform, 53 Hydrophobic
Fracture strain, 416 surface, 478
Fracture stress, 416 Hydrophobic attraction, effect, 169
bone, 395 Hydrophobic force, 167
tendon, 393 Hydrophylic
Froude number, 457 contact angle, 477
FtsZ, bacterial protein, 351 surface, 477
Hysteresis, 377
Hysteresis loop, 392
G
Galenus, pneuma theory, 96 I
Gamma function, 45 Immiscible fluids, 181
Gaussian integral, 46 Instability, dynamical, 492
Gene, 104 Intensive variable, 10
splicing, 104 Internal energy, 13
Generalised force, 160 Interneuron, 288
Gibbs free energy, 27, 29 Inversion potential, 291
Gibbs statistical factor, entropy, 18 Ion channel, 263
Gilbert, W., RNA world, 87 aquaporin-1, 264
Global heating, 40 indirect active transporter, 265
Glucose-6-phosphate, 146 ligand-gated, 264
Glucose transporter, GLUT, 145 light-gated, 264
Glycan, see polysaccharide mechanical-gated, 264
Glycerine, 152 porin, 128, 264
Glycocalyx, 337 proton pump, 265
Glycogen, 116 sodium-potassium pump, 264
Glycolysis, 116, 123 voltage-gated, 264
Golden mean, or Sectio aurea, 515 Iridescence, 486
Golgi organ, 337 Iron-sulphur theory, see biosynthesis
Gonium, pluricellular alga, 189 Irreversibility, 19, 61
Gould and Eldredge theory, punctuated equi- Irrotational, vector field, 50
libria, 94 Isolated system, 12, 15
Gradient, of a scalar function, 48 Isometric effort, 427
Gravity, variations, 539 Isometry, 529
Gyration radius, 174, see also polymer Isotonic equilibrium, 165
Index 617

K Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, 65, 329

Ketone bodies, 146 Maxwell’s equations, 311
Kinesin, 207, 222 Mayer and Joule, heat-energy equivalent, 14
KIF5, 223 Maynard-Smith, theory of proto-cell, 86
Kirchhoff’s laws, 311 Mayr theory, allopatric speciation, 94
Krebs cycle, 122 Membrane
Kronecker delta function, 46 cortical tension, 193
Kuramoto model, 513 diffusion, 176
double layer, 197
semipermeable, 161
L Meniscus, 479
Lamé coefficients, 52 Mesoderm, 505
Lamé parameters, 371 Metabolic rate, 145
Laplace’s equation, 486 Metabolism
Laplace’s law, 166, 193, 194, 349, 479, 486 surface scaling law, 540
Laplacian operator, 49 Metabolism, 3/4 scaling, 543
Leslie model, 568, see also population Methylation, 107, 108
dynamics Micelle, 196
Leucocyte, white blood cell, 193 Michaelis constant, 234
Lever-arm model, 220 Michaelis-Menten
Liebig’s law, of the minimum, 557 equation, 234
Lift-to-weight ratio, 541 kinetics, 234
birds versus airplanes, 542
rate constants, 219
Lignin, 398
Microscopic state, 11
Limit cycle, 551
Microtubule, 193, 222
Limiting shape, 492
Miller and Urey experiment, 84
catenoid, 492
Mimivirus, 88
Linear system, 567
Minimal model, membrane, 341
Lineweaver-Burk plot, 234
Minimal surface, 484, 491
Lipid double layer, 197
Mitochondrion, 337
Lipid droplets, 146
cardiac, 436
Lipid vesicles, 338
Liposome, 198 Mitosis, 424
Lithosphere, 30 Mobility, 191, 206, 268
Logistic function, 545 Moment of inertia, 533
Loose-coupling model, 221 Monomer, 317
Lotka-Volterra equation, 550 Motility assay, 207
coexistence and symbiosis, 553 MreB, bacterial protein, 351
competition versus cooperation, 552 Muscle
economic cycles, 551 antagonist, 424
non-trophic interactions, 566 contraction frequency, 423
predator-prey model, 551 direct, insect, 439
Lyapunov exponent, see deterministic chaos indirect, insect, 439
Lysis, membrane rupture, 165, 193 intrinsic rapidity, 430
sarcomere, 424
sarcosome, 424
M strain, 426
Macroscopic state, 10 stress, 423
Magnetic permeability, relative, 312 tonic, 431
Malthusian catastrophe, 545 Muscle, mechanical work, 531
Malthusian growth law, 544 Myocyte, muscle cell, 424
Mass-growth rate, 544 Myofibril, 424
Mass, maximum for an animal, 536 Myosin, 207, 261
Material surplus, 543 myosin-II average speed, 221
618 Index

myosin-V speed, 222 Phosphodiester bond, 150

myosin-V stall force, 222 Phospholipid, 195
power stroke, 209 Phosphorus cycle, 559
Myotendinous junction, 391 Photon, 35
Mytilus edulis, mollusk, 191 Photosynthesis, 35
Phototaxis, 256
Phyllotaxis, 515
N Plankton, 192
Negative entropy, 33, 34 Plasma, 193
Nernst equation, 266 Plasma membrane, 337
Neuromuscular junction, 260, 441 Poisson-Boltzmann equation, 175
Neuron, 258 Poisson’s ratio, 371
aminergic versus cholinergic, 551 Polymer, 317
mitochondria, 222 contour length, 319
Neuron refractory period end-to-end distance, 320
absolute, 285 entropic spring, 332
relative, 285 folding, 329
Newtonian fluid, 184 gyration radius, 321
Nicotinamide, 152 heteropolymer, 318
Nitrogen cycle, 559 homopolymer, 318
Nitrogen fixing bacteria, 559 hydrodynamic radius, 321
Nuclei, central nervous system, 294 Kuhn length, 327
Nucleoside, 150 Polysaccharide, 154
Nucleosome, 101 Population dynamics, 544
Nucleotide, see DNA Porin, see ion channel
Post-synaptic terminal, 259
Power surplus, 543
O
Pre-stress, 403
Ohm’s law, 268
Pre-synaptic terminal, 259
Oncotic pressure, 187
Prigogine theory, entropy production, 82
Open system, 27
Probability, microscopic, 61
Optical tweezers, 334
Projection matrix, see transition matrix
Orthodromic conduction, 285
Protein
Osmolar solution, 165
active site, 155
Oxidative phosphorylation, 133
alpha helix, 154
Oxygen cycle, 558
beta sheet, 154
homeodomain, 505
P primary structure, 154
Parenchyma, 400, 402 Protein concentration, cytoplasm, 71
Particle flux, 177 Protein, native conformation, 105
Partition coefficient, 181, 263 Proton pump, 119
Partition function, 63 ATP synthase, 237
Patch-clamp technique, 254 Pterosaurus, 538
Pauli repulsion, 172 Punctuated equilibria, see speciation
Péclet number, 188 Pyrogen, 144
Pectin, 397 Pyruvate, 122
Pendulum, body oscillation, 534
Penrose tiling, 489
Permeability, 181, 263, 390 R
Perrin experiments, colloids, 25 Radial symmetry, 505
Persistence length, 327, 330 Rank, see tensor
Persistence length, membrane, 347 Reading frame, RNA, 105
Phenotype, 101 Redox cofactor, 151
Index 619

Redox reaction, 129, 131 Shear stress

Regular polyhedra, 489 in a viscous fluid, 184
Remodelling, 368 Single-dipole model, heart, 301
Reservoir, thermodynamic, 10 Sinoatrial node, heart, 300
Resilience, 392 Skin
Resilin, 440 epidermis, 381
Resting metabolic rate, O2 consumption, hypodermis, 382
145 Skin, tissue, 381
Resting potential, 269 Smoluchowski equation, 175
Retinotopy, 295 Soap bubble, surface tension, 485
Reynolds number, 183 Solar constant, C S , 38
Rheobasic current, 278 Solenoidal, vector field, 50
Riboflavin, 152 Somites, see tissue
Ribose, 150 Space filling, 487
Ribosome, 102, 104 Speciation, 94
Ribozyme, 87 allopatric, 94
RNA phyletic gradualism, 94
messenger RNA, 102 punctuated equilibria, 94
ribosomal RNA, 104 Spectrin, 195
ribosome, 104 Squid, giant axon and synapse, 266
RNA-world hypothesis, 80, 87 Stahl theory of vitalism, 96
Rotor, of a vector (curl), 49 Standard solid model, 380
Starling equation, 187
Stefan-Boltzmann law, 41, 137
S Steric protection, 172
Sackur-Tetrode entropy, perfect gas, 18 Stern layer, 175
Saltatory conduction, neuron, 282 Stevin’s law, 483
Sap, see tree trunk Stick-slip, boundary, 183
Sarcomere, 209, 261, see also muscle Stirling’s approximation, factorial, 47
Sarcoplasmic reticulum, 424 Stoney equation, 445
Sarcosome, see muscle Strain, 408
Saturated fatty acid, 196 tensor, 409
Saturation, neuron receptors, 295 Strain-rate sensitivity, 377
Scalar or dot product, 48 Strength, material, 416
Scaling Stress, 407
of animal jumping, 531 tensor, 407
of animal speed, 534 Stress relaxation, 377
of moment of inertia, 533 Stress-strain diagram, 415
of muscle work, 531 Stress-strain relations, 370
of walking frequency, 533 Stride length, 533
Scaling analysis, 528 Strouhal number, 463
Scaling coefficient, 529 Structured population model, 567
Scaling exponent, 529 Supernatant, 585
Scaling factor, 528 Surface force, 476
Scaling law, metabolic, 145 Surface of revolution, 493
Scaling, of bone size, 537 Surface tension, 486
Scaling of bone size, prehistoric birds, 538 Surface tension, cell, 166
Scaling, of muscle power, 540 Surface to volume ratio, 484
Schrödinger negative entropy, 34 Symporter, 124
Sedimentation, 191 Symporter, ion channel, 134
Sedimentation coefficient, 202 Synapse, 222, 289
Shannon equation, entropy, 75 chemical, 259, 289
Shear modulus, 371 electrical, 260, 289
620 Index

excitatory, inhibitory, 292 Troponin, 210

in plants, 305 Troponin-C, 261
neuromuscular, 260, 441 Tubulin, 227, 249
Synaptic cleft, 259 Turing’s model, morphogenesis, 507
Synaptic potential, 290 Twisting modulus, 397, 405
Syncysis, 424
Systole, heart contraction, 296 U
Ubiquinone, 130
Unsaturated fatty acid, 196
T
Usher model, 568, see also population
Tenocyte, 386
dynamics
Tensor
invariants, 52
V
matrix form, 50
Vector product, 48
notation, 50
Verhulst model, 545
product, 51
Vesicle, 198
rank, 51
Viral capsid, 88
Thermal engine, 30
Virus, 88
Thermal ratchet, 216
Viscoelasticity, 377
Thermal receptors, skin, 139
Kelvin-Voigt model, 380
Thermal reservoir, 26
Maxwell model, 380
Thermodynamic system, 9
motor proteins, 360
Thermogenesis, plants, 148
of cartilage, 388
Thermostat, see thermal reservoir
of skin, 384
Time constant, capacitor, 310
of tendon, 391
Tissue
of woods, 401
blastula, 503
standard solid model, 380
diploblastic, 505
Viscosity, 206
gastrula, 503
of biological fluids, 239
segmentation, 505
of water, 206
somites, 505
Voigt notation, 409
triploblastic, 505
Voltage-clamp technique, 279
Titin, 336
Volume force, 476
Toroid, 494
Volumetric flux, 184
Torus, 494
Volvox, unicellular alga, 189, 255
Toughness
of rhinoceros skin, 386
Toughness, material, 373, 416 W
Transfer function, 213 Wächtershäuser iron-sulphur theory, 89
Transition matrix, 568 Water column, 192
Translation table, RNA-amino acids, 105 White fat, 147
Tree trunk Wiechert model, 381
heartwood, 398 Worm-like chain, 388
phloem, 400
sapwood, 398 X
tracheids, 400 Xylem, see tree trunk
xylem, 400
Triacylglycerol, 116
Triglycerides, 115, 147, 152 Y
Triploblastic, body plan, 90, 505 Yield stress, 416
Trophic interaction, 563 Young’s modulus, 371
mutualism, commensalism, antagonism,
563 Z
Trophic level, see ecology Zeta potential, 175