ON THE PROPULSION OF MICRO-ORGANISMS NEAR SOLID BOUNDARIES.

In this paper an infinite waving sheet is used to model a micro-organism swimming either parallel to a single plane wall, or along a channel formed by two such walls. The sheet surfave, which undergoes small amplitude waves, can represent either a single flagellum or the envelope of the tips of numerous cilia. Two different solutions of the equations of motion are presented, depending upon whether or not the wave amplitude is small compared with the separation distances between the sheet and walls. It is found that the velocity of propulsion is bounded by the velocity of wave propagation by the sheet. Refs.

Duke Scholars

Author David F. Katz Biomedical Engineering