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. 2001 Jun 12;98(13):7235–7240. doi: 10.1073/pnas.121191898

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Equipotentials of the surface of free energy W(rf, l) of two nipples with hydrophobic patches as a function of their separation, l, and radii, rf, of the hydrophobic patches. The contours are 10 kT apart. The circle denotes a saddle-like point; the lowest energy pathway from nipples to stalks is to pass over it, yielding a total energy for transition of 37 kT. Arrows point in the direction of decreases in energy. A three-dimensional representation is shown in the Inset. The trajectory of stalk formation is from the Lower Left to Upper Right (l = 0). The parameters used for calculation are: Rn = 8 nm, P0 = 109 N/m2, ξh = 0.25 nm, Wp − Wn = 400 kT, Lp = 5 nm.