A model of a red blood cell portrays the cell as a sphericalcapacitor, a positively charged liquid sphere of surface areaA separated from the surrounding negatively charged fluidby a membrane of thickness t. Tiny electrodes introducedinto the interior of the cell show a potential difference of 100 mVacross the membrane. The membrane's thickness is estimated to be105 nm and has a dielectric constantof 5.00.
a) If an average red blood cell has a mass of1.2e-12 kg, estimate the volume of thecell and thus find its surface area. The density of blood is 1100kg/m3.
surface area =
b) Estimate the capacitance of the cell by assuming themembrane surfaces act as parallel plates. F
c) Calculate the charge on the surface of the membrane. C
How many electronic (elementary) charges does the surfacecharge represent?