Premium
Hydrodynamic resistance and diffusion coefficients of a freely hinged rod
Author(s) -
Wegener William A.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.1980.360191016
Subject(s) - rod , diffusion , chemistry , tensor (intrinsic definition) , mechanics , rotational diffusion , classical mechanics , thermodynamics , physics , geometry , mathematics , alternative medicine , organic chemistry , pathology , molecule , medicine
The seven‐dimensional hydrodynamic resistance and diffusion tensors are evaluated for a rod which is freely hinged at its center and immersed in a viscous fluid. The hydrodynamic resistance tensor is first determined at the hinge, then transformed to other points and inverted to obtain the diffusion tensor. Hydrodynamic interactions between rod halves are neglected, which is asymptotically correct for long rods. In the long‐rod limit, the diffusion coefficient characterizing translations over macroscopic distances is decreased by 3–6% from that for a rigid straight rod of same total length, while the average end‐over‐end rotational diffusion coefficient for each rod half is increased 4.67 times.