Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part One Fundamentals
- Part Two Cellular Locomotion
- 5 Flagella and the Physics of Viscous Propulsion
- 6 Hydrodynamics of Slender Filaments
- 7 Waving of Eukaryotic Flagella
- 8 Rotation of Bacterial Flagellar Filaments
- 9 Flows and Stresses Induced by Cells
- Part Three INTERACTIONS
- References
- Index
9 - Flows and Stresses Induced by Cells
from Part Two - Cellular Locomotion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 September 2020
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part One Fundamentals
- Part Two Cellular Locomotion
- 5 Flagella and the Physics of Viscous Propulsion
- 6 Hydrodynamics of Slender Filaments
- 7 Waving of Eukaryotic Flagella
- 8 Rotation of Bacterial Flagellar Filaments
- 9 Flows and Stresses Induced by Cells
- Part Three INTERACTIONS
- References
- Index
Summary
We have so far described the fluid dynamics relevant to the propulsion mechanisms of individual microorganisms, with a focus on the physical principles dictating cell locomotion. The length scales involved ranged from tens of nanometres to a few microns. In contrast, the dynamics of cell populations is characterised by much larger length scales, typically hundreds of microns and above. The flow disturbances induced by swimming cells on these large length scales play important biophysical roles, from governing the mixing and transport of nutrients to impacting the physical interactions of cells with their environment and the collective dynamics of populations. In this ninth chapter we address the consequences of the force-free and torque-free swimming constraints of swimming cells on the flows they create. We develop the framework to describe these flow signatures mathematically on length scales larger than that of the organisms, compare them with experimental measurements, explain how to find better approximations near the cells and discuss implications for the hydrodynamic stresses induced by suspensions of swimming microorganisms.
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- The Fluid Dynamics of Cell Motility , pp. 139 - 156Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020