"Meso-organisms"; can Brownian motion enhance their motile efficiency?

C.A. CONDAT; G.J. SIBONA

Cancún, México

Conferencia; Statphys 21; 2001

IUPAP - International Union of Pure and Applied Physics

Small microorganisms move in ways that are alien to our macroscopic intuition. Not only do they move by transforming their chemical energy stores into kinetic energy, but they are also immersed in Brownian force fields. We show that, under certain conditions, appropriate, for example, for the case of marine bacteria, these "meso-organisms" can take advantage of the Brownian forces to increase the mechanical efficiency of their propulsion system. We explore some properties of the motion of these objects using analytical tools and Monte Carlo simulations.