In this section, we discuss statical and dynamical components, attribute a new role to the AIS, and introduce the dynamic layers on the surfaces of the membrane. Fundamentally, only electrical and thermodynamic forces exert on ions, but the biological environment decisively affect their movement. As discussed in section 2.4, in biological systems, a complex set of forces exerts on ions, see Eq.(2.55). We derived the ”thermodynamic electrical field” in section 2.6.3, so we use the concept of ”thermoelectric field” to describe the exerting forces. Considering the forces, orients us to discover the phenomena and their reasons. As discussed in section 2.5.3, the ions move with their Stokes-Einstein speed, proportional with the generalized electrical field, see Eq.(2.28), so enormously different speeds form the neuronal operation. Furthermore, because of their cooperation, it is hard to separate the operation of the components.
The dynamic components do not fit in the ’old understanding’. Physiology inherited the static view of anatomy and developed its own static methods of observation (clamping, see section 2.3.4), as discussed at several points of the site. That concept has no place for dynamically formed components (a consequence of the finite neuron size and ion speeds). Recall that, in physics, the drift speed and the thermal speed differ by several orders of magnitude; furthermore, that they describe the same object’s macroscopic and microscopic movement However, they are interpreted for a system of neutral particles; the ions behave differently. We also introduce the electrical potential-assisted speed (scales to between the drift speed and thermal speed) and the potential-accelerated speed (scales to well above the thermal speed) of ions that differ by several orders of magnitude. Of course, these speeds have no well-defined values, but they orient us in discussing the ions’ behavior. Speed plays a decisive role in biology [26].