Related papers: Osmosis at constant volume and water uptake in tal…
We can propound a thermo-mechanical understanding of the ascent of sap to the top of tall trees thanks to a comparison between experiments associated with the cohesion-tension theory and the disjoining pressure concept for liquid…
The cohesion-tension theory expounds the crude sap ascent thanks to the negative pressure generated by evaporation of water from leaves. Nevertheless, trees pose multiple challenges and seem to live in unphysical conditions: the negative…
The water ascent in tall trees is subject to controversy: the vegetal biologists debate on the validity of the cohesion-tension theory which considers strong negative pressures in microtubes of xylem carrying the crude sap. This article…
Liquids in contact with solids are submitted to intermolecular forces inferring density gradients at the walls. The van der Waals forces make liquid heterogeneous, the stress tensor is not any more spherical as in homogeneous bulks and it…
Alterations of charges density on membranes (potentials) of plant cells by ion currents lead to disbalance of Coulomb forces compressing membranes and counteracting Hookean elastic forces. It should results in membrane vibrations till…
Respiration measurements of whole tree plants have been reported that give evidence that the relative per volume/mass unit respiration decreases with increase of tree body size. In this study, based on the available data published a…
Leaf hydraulic networks play an important role not only in fluid transport but also in maintaining whole-plant water status through transient environmental changes in soil-based water supply or air humidity. Both water potential and…
The ability of trees to suck water from roots to leaves, sometimes to heights of over a hundred meters, is remarkable given the absence of any mechanical pump. This study deals with a number of issues, of both an historical and conceptual…
In Amazing numbers in biology, Flindt reports a giant, 128 meter-tall eucalyptus, and a 135 meter-tall sequoia. However, the explanation of the maximum altitude of the crude sap ascent and consequently the main reason of the maximum size…
Most of the studies on optimal transport are done for steady state regime conditions. Yet, there exists numerous examples in living systems where supply tree networks have to deliver products in a limited time due to the pulsatile character…
In this paper, we explore various forms of osmotic transport in the regime of high solute concentration. We consider both the osmosis across membranes and diffusio-osmosis at solid interfaces, driven by solute concentration gradients. We…
Sap transport in trees has long fascinated scientists, and a vast literature exists on experimental and modelling studies of trees during the growing season when large negative stem pressures are generated by transpiration from leaves. Much…
It is well known that a solid (e.g. wood or rubber) can be put under tensile stress by pulling on it. Once a critical stress is overcome, the solid breaks, leaving an empty space. Similarly, due to internal cohesion, a liquid can withstand…
Water flow in plant tissues takes place in two different physical domains separated by semipermeable membranes: cell insides and cell walls. The assembly of all cell insides and cell walls are termed symplast and apoplast, respectively.…
The movement of ionic solutions is an essential part of biology and technology. Fluidics, from nano- to micro- to microfluidics, is a burgeoning area of technology which is all about the movement of ionic solutions, on various scales. Many…
We study immiscible two-phase flow of a compressible and an incompressible fluid inside a capillary tube of varying radius under steady-state conditions. The incompressible fluid is Newtonian and the compressible fluid is an inviscid ideal…
The water uptake by roots of plants is examined for an ideal situation, with an approximation that resembles plants growing in pots, meaning that the total soil volume is fixed. We propose a coupled water uptake-root growth model. A…
There is a correspondence between the circulation of blood in all higher animals and the circulation of sap in all higher plants - up to heights h of 140 m - through the xylem and phloem vessels. Plants suck in water from the soil,…
Osmosis is a universal phenomenon occurring in a broad variety of processes and fields. It is the archetype of entropic forces, both trivial in its fundamental expression - the van 't Hoff perfect gas law - and highly subtle in its physical…
From paints to food products, solvent evaporation is ubiquitous and critically impacts product rheological properties. It affects Newtonian fluids by concentrating any non-volatile components and viscoelastic materials, which hardens up. In…