Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026

External Excitation of Neurons Using Electric and Magnetic Fields in One- and Two-dimensional Cultures
Published on: May 7, 2017
A theory for spiral wave drift induced by ac and polarized electric fields in chemical excitable media
Teng-Chao Li1, Xiang Gao2,3, Fei-Fei Zheng1
1Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
Abstract:
Spiral waves are shown to undergo directional drifts in the presence of ac and polarized electric fields when their frequencies are twice of the spiral frequencies. Here, we propose a quantitative description for the spiral wave drift induced by weak electric fields, and provide the explicit equations for the spiral wave drift speed and direction. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the quantitative agreement with analytical results in both weakly and highly excitable media.
Related Concept Videos
Electromagnetic Waves
Standing Electromagnetic Waves
Suppose a sheet of a perfect conductor is placed in the yz-plane, and a linearly polarized electromagnetic wave traveling in the...
Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor
Potential Due to a Polarized Object
Induced Electric Dipoles
Since the absolute value of potential energy holds no physical meaning, its zero value can be chosen as per...
Electromagnetic Wave Equation
However, although electric and magnetic fields were first introduced as mathematical constructs to simplify the description of mutual forces between charges, a natural question emerges from Maxwell's equations:...

