Vol. 1 No. 2 (2024)
From the cover: The electric potential, a scalar quantity, can be visualized by drawing equipotentials; isolines or level curves in which potential is a constant. The electric field, a vector field, points in a direction perpendicular to the equipotentials, down the gradient. These physics concepts might be important to consider when designing equipment that makes use of electric fields, such as in a low-cost gel electrophoresis rig. Here, researchers consider this problem. Electrophoresis is a technique where molecules can be sorted according to their charge and size. By characterizing the field and equipotentials within a prototype device, one could eventually predict the movement of various biomolecules of interest, such as fragments of DNA cut into parts at specific nucleotide sequences by restriction enzymes. Cover image: Pooja Thaker.
Published:
2024-12-13
