Document Type

Journal Article

Role

Author

Standard Number

0031-9007

Journal Title

Physical Review. Letters

Volume

105

Issue

16

First Page

e168102

Publication Date

2010

Abstract

We present the first time-resolved measurements of the oscillatory velocity field induced by swimming unicellular microorganisms. Confinement of the green alga C. reinhardtii in stabilized thin liquid films allows simultaneous tracking of cells and tracer particles. The measured velocity field reveals complex time-dependent flow structures, and scales inversely with distance. The instantaneous mechanical power generated by the cells is measured from the velocity fields and peaks at 15 fW. The dissipation per cycle is more than 4 times what steady swimming would require. A pdf of this published paper has been uploaded elsewhere on this page. Guasto was a post-doctoral student of Jerry Gollub's. --author supplied description

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