| Issue |
Europhys. Lett.
Volume 57, Number 1, January 2002
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 134 - 140 | |
| Section | Interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/epl/i2002-00385-6 | |
| Published online | 01 September 2002 | |
The Stokes efficiency for molecular motors and its applications
1
Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics,
School of Engineering University of California - Santa
Cruz, CA 95064, USA
2
Departments of Molecular & Cellular Biology,
and ESPM University of California - Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Corresponding author: hongwang@cse.ucsc.edu
Received:
1
February
2001
Accepted:
9
October
2001
In many experiments it is only possible to load a molecular motor by manipulating the viscous drag from the fluid medium. In these situations, it is not clear how to measure the efficiency of energy transduction. Here we define the Stokes efficiency as the average viscous drag times the average velocity divided by the rate of free-energy consumption. We show that this efficiency is bounded by 100% and thus is well defined. We compare the Stokes efficiency with the usual thermodynamic efficiency, and discuss what information it provides about the motor mechanism.
PACS: 87.10.+e – Biological and medical physics: General theory and mathematical aspects
© EDP Sciences, 2002
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