Aspects Of Condensed Matter

Abstract

The electric behavior of excitable membranes reflects the properties of the ion channels embedded in their lipid matrix and the composition of the aqueous media. To further our goal of explaining the behavior of the voltage-sensitive ion channels, we will review the physics of condensed materials with an eye to possible clues to the understanding of these channels. If we are to have a fair start in understanding their behavior in basic physical terms, we should be sure we understand how the behavior of simpler forms of matter is explained by condensed matter physics. We will clarify our ideas about the quantum basis of matter and review the way material structures undergo cooperative changes, phase transitions, in their large-scale conformation. From there we will explore the way these macroscopic phenomena arise from the atomic structure of matter. These elementary principles should help us apply the principles of physics to the configurational transitions that ion channels undergo.