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The Journal of General Physiology logoLink to The Journal of General Physiology
. 1932 Jul 20;15(6):641–649. doi: 10.1085/jgp.15.6.641

ELECTRIC PHASE ANGLE OF CELL MEMBRANES

Kenneth S Cole 1
PMCID: PMC2141191  PMID: 19872673

Abstract

From the theory of an electric network containing any combination of resistances and a single variable impedance element having a constant phase angle independent of frequency, it is shown that the graph of the terminal series reactance against the resistance is an arc of a circle with the position of the center depending upon the phase angle of the variable element. If it be assumed that biological systems are equivalent to such a network, the hypotheses are supported at low and intermediate frequencies by data on red blood cells, muscle, nerve, and potato. For some tissues there is a marked divergence from the circle at high frequencies, which is not interpreted.

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