On 7-2-2010 23:15, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> True - although muscle contraction is a cascade of chemical reactions 
>>> triggered by electricity.
>>
>> Not really. Nerve activity is a chemical process that dumps charged 
>> particles out of one end to start the chemical reaction at the other 
>> end of the next nerve cell. But it's primarily chemical as it travels 
>> thru the nerve, unlike electricity in wires.
>>
>> Novocain, for example, works by suppressing the chemical reaction in 
>> the nerve.
> 
> The way I read it, nerve conduction works primarily electronically 
> (i.e., along the length of the nerve cell body) and uses a chemical 
> stage to traverse adjacent nerve cells (i.e., the synaptic junction). 
> Electricity is the primary reason why nerves conduct fast - to the point 
> that mylinated nerves conduct faster due to the extra insulation.
> 
> (The part where the nerve connects to the muscle fiber is also chemical, 
> as is the process by which the muscle contracts.)

Actually also that is partly true. If the cell did not maintain an 
electric field over the membranes (both cell and SR) it would not function.

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