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Stomatal mechanics. III. Geometric interpretation of the mechanical advantage *
Author(s) -
WU H.,
SHARPE P. J. H.,
SPENCE R. D.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/1365-3040.ep11604674
Subject(s) - guard cell , turgor pressure , simple (philosophy) , guard (computer science) , physics , mechanics , biological system , mathematics , geometry , classical mechanics , biophysics , computer science , botany , biology , philosophy , epistemology , programming language
. Previous mathematical analyses of stomatal mechanics have demonstrated, and experimental measurements have confirmed, that the turgor‐generated force of the epidermal cells dominates that of the guard cells in determining aperture. DcMichele & Sharpe (1973) termed the phenomenon the mechanical advantage of the epidermal cells, while Cooke et al. (1976) expressed it as an antagonism ratio. Both of these formulations, however, have theoretical or practical limitations. This study presents a biophysical analysis demonstrating that the effective forces in the stomatal system may be studied in terms of simple stomatal geometry. From this analysis, the mechanical advantage can be redefined and interpreted based upon simple geometric relationships calculated from measurable anatomical dimensions.