Membrane Potential Simulation
  • Technical issues:

    • The Nernst/Goldman simulation is an experimental Java program.

    • Please make sure Java is enabled on your browser.

    • If the program does not lay out correctly, check your font size. The program is designed for small fonts. Screen size should be 800 x 600. The program will display in a 640 x 480 size screen but you won't be able to see the entire program at once.

    • Consider these starting values for sodium, potassium and chloride concentrations:

      • Na+:  outside: 150 mM; inside 15 mM

      • K+:  outside 5 mM; inside 150 mM

      • Cl-:  outside 120 mM; inside 10 mM

      • Consider also that the membrane permeability to K+ is higher than for Na+, by perhaps a factor of 10. These factors, ion concentration ratios (outside:inside) and permeabilities, result in a membrane potential of about -50 to -60 mv approximating the K+ equilibrium potential.

  • Attributions: We thank Drs Steven Wright and Robert Gore of the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona and Cindy Frank and Dr. John Hall for their work and permission to use their membrane potential "Nernst/Goldman" simulator.

  • To find out more about Physiology and in particular Physiology at Arizona follow this link!

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