Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is considered the primary energy source in cells. However, energy can also be stored in the electrochemical gradient of an ion across the plasma membrane, which is determined by two factors: its chemical and electrical gradients.
The chemical gradient relies on differences in the abundance of a substance on the outside versus the inside of a cell and flows from areas of high to low ion concentration. In contrast, the electrical gradient revolves around an ion’s...

Overview

Translocation of proteins across membranes is an ancient process that occurs even in bacteria and archaebacteria. In fact, the components of the translocation machinery are still conserved between prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
Sec61 channel partners for cotranslational translocation
During cotranslational translocation, the Sec61 channel partners with the signal recognition particle (SRP), the signal recognition particle receptor (SR), and the ribosomes to transport the nascent polypeptide chain...

The total current density in magnetized material is the sum of the free and bound current densities. The free current arises due to the motion of free electrons within the material, while the bound current arises due to the alignment of magnetic dipole moments.
The differential form of Ampere's law in vacuum states that the curl of the magnetic field equals the permeability times the current density. In a magnetized material, the law is modified to incorporate the free and bound current...

In mathematics and physics, the gradient and del operator are fundamental concepts used to describe the behavior of functions and fields in space. The gradient is a mathematical operator that gives both the magnitude and direction of the maximum spatial rate of change. Consider a person standing on a mountain. The slope of the mountain at any given point is not defined unless it is quantified in a particular direction. For this reason, a "directional derivative" is defined, which is a vector...

A line integral for a vector field is defined as the integral of the dot product of a vector function with an infinitesimal displacement vector along a prescribed path. If the prescribed path is closed, the integrals reduce to a closed-line integral. The closed-contour integral of the vector field is referred to in terms of the circulation of the vector field around the closed path. A vector with zero circulation around every closed path is called a conservative field, while one with non-zero...