Product Description

Our understanding of biological functions is rapidly approaching the molecular level. On this scale the only significant forces are electromagnetic, so that ultimately all living processes must be understood in terms of electromagnetic fields and forces. The first half of the present book deals with the theory of electromagnetism using a descriptive and geometrical approach suited to students of biology, chemistry, and biochemistry, and including biologically relevant examples where possible. The second half contains biological topics which can serve as applications of the theory for students of chemistry or biology, or as an introduction to biology for students trained in the physical sciences who wish to migrate to biology. Topics include the properties of water and ions in bulk solution and in narrow pores, the Debye Layer, possible mechanisms for a magnetic animal compass, an electrostatic model of a proton/ion counterport, and the semi-classical theory of nuclear magnetic resonance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2955826 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 302 pages

Review
"Edmonds (The Clarendon Laboratory, U. of Oxford) offers this textbook to help biologists master the theory of electro-magnetic forces. Ten chapters explain the basic theory in a manner accessible to non-physics students, using an approach more descriptive and less dependent on algebraic manipulation than that of most physics textbooks. Essential mathematical concepts are explained for readers lacking a strong mathematical background. Six additional chapters demonstrate the application of the theory for chemistry and biology students. Topics include the properties of water and ions in bulk solution and in narrow pores, the Debye layer, possible mechanisms for a magnetic animal compass, an electrostatic model of a proton/ion counterport, and the semi-classical theory of nuclear magnetic resonance."--SciTech Book News
"Stellar Magnetism provides a mathematical analysis of the behaviour and consequences of magnetic fields for the structure, properties and evolution of stars. . .The price represents good value for a volume of this magnitude and technical quality. Stellar Magnetism provides a comprehensive account of a complex subject. It will be an important reference for the decade to come and will provide source material for advanced courses in astrophysics. In the longer term, it will serve as a measure of scientific achievement at the present epoch."--Iigh Temperatures - High Pressure

Review
"The book conveniently sets out the basic information that forms the back-ground to the physical approach to parts of biology. It would be useful to research workers with biological backgrounds who find they need to understand electrical phenomena at the physical level." (Times Higher Education Supplement )

About the Author
Professor of Physics, University of Oxford. d.edmonds1@physics.ox.ac.uk Tel.: 01993/822516

Customer Reviews

Electricity and magnatism in biological systems
a specialist book and a great resource for researchers in this field. if you, like me are approaching this from a biological point it can take an hour or two to get your head around the physics. it contains recent experiments in this field from america, uk and japan.
its split into two sections. the basic theory, and applications. both cover there material in detail.
i bought this book whilst doing my thesis for my honors degree in marine biology i was researching the magnetic sense in the squid loligo forbesi and also deriving its eq. this book was a tremendous help to that end, i recommend this book to any one else doing research in this field.
dan