CHEM 130B Study Guide - Final Guide: Mass Diffusivity, Thermodynamic Equilibrium, Viscosity
Document Summary
Slower transport in membrane 2 means that the barrier for the process in membrane 2 is greater than that in 1. This barrier is arising from different electrical potentials in both membranes which then come from corresponding charge densities. In other words, the charge densities in membrane 2 must be more positive than in 1 since na+ is feeling greater barrier (or repulsion) in membrane 2 in its passing. Although the kinetics for these two membranes are different due to different electrical potentials as described above, it doesn"t mean that the thermodynamic equilibrium is different as well. In fact, since the differences in electrical potential between. Inside and outside are the same for both membranes (which we more or less assume), the final composition will be the same for both. What is different is just the time that take for both systems to reach (the same) equilibrium.
