Preface
“Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on ’till you come to the end.
Then stop.”
—Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
This is a student’s guide to biophysics, following a course given for many years
to biophysics, premedical, and biomedical engineering students. The full range of
physical principles underlying biological processes are introduced and applied to
biophysics and medicine. By starting with the foundations of natural processes
and then showing how to arrive at some consequences in biosystems, students
may develop their own thinking in applying our understanding of nature. These
creative endeavors are useful to future applications of the field, facilitating progress
in biophysical and biomedical technology.
The level of the course is intended for advanced undergraduates who have already
had a first year physics course and an introduction to calculus and for first-year
graduate students. Although the presentations sometimes contain models whose
mathematical tactics are new to some students, the use of such techniques is not
to teach mathematical physics, but rather to show that the ideas behind definitive
statements in the subject are logically firm. The art of solving the more sophisticated
models for particular examples in nature is left to more advanced courses.
I wish to especially thank Dr. Thanhcuong Nguyen, who shared her extensive
course notes, and Dr. Craig Futterman, for his continuous and lively encouragement
through the years. With discussions and exchanges, Prof. Leonard C. Maximon was
particularly helpful in his ability to zero in on the essence of a question, as was Prof.
Ali Eskandarian for his insightful ideas.
Please notify the author (wparke@gwu.edu) if errors are found. Unattributed
figures were created by the author or are in the public domain. No liability is
assumed for losses or damages due to the information provided.
Solutions to the exercises are available to instructors for their use, but not for
distribution, from
.
Washington, DC, USA
William C. Parke
v
https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783030441456
“Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on ’till you come to the end.
Then stop.”
—Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
This is a student’s guide to biophysics, following a course given for many years
to biophysics, premedical, and biomedical engineering students. The full range of
physical principles underlying biological processes are introduced and applied to
biophysics and medicine. By starting with the foundations of natural processes
and then showing how to arrive at some consequences in biosystems, students
may develop their own thinking in applying our understanding of nature. These
creative endeavors are useful to future applications of the field, facilitating progress
in biophysical and biomedical technology.
The level of the course is intended for advanced undergraduates who have already
had a first year physics course and an introduction to calculus and for first-year
graduate students. Although the presentations sometimes contain models whose
mathematical tactics are new to some students, the use of such techniques is not
to teach mathematical physics, but rather to show that the ideas behind definitive
statements in the subject are logically firm. The art of solving the more sophisticated
models for particular examples in nature is left to more advanced courses.
I wish to especially thank Dr. Thanhcuong Nguyen, who shared her extensive
course notes, and Dr. Craig Futterman, for his continuous and lively encouragement
through the years. With discussions and exchanges, Prof. Leonard C. Maximon was
particularly helpful in his ability to zero in on the essence of a question, as was Prof.
Ali Eskandarian for his insightful ideas.
Please notify the author (wparke@gwu.edu) if errors are found. Unattributed
figures were created by the author or are in the public domain. No liability is
assumed for losses or damages due to the information provided.
Solutions to the exercises are available to instructors for their use, but not for
distribution, from
.
Washington, DC, USA
William C. Parke
v
https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783030441456