Hydrophilic Surface and End-Walls in Vessels Help Water Ascend

摘要：

How water ascends in tall trees is far from fully understood. At present, each theory suffers accusations of being inadequate and misleading. They share, none the less, one consensus that many air bubbles are present in xylem vessels, a feature believed to interrupt water lifting due to embolisms. Here, using a microfluidic technology to mimic xylem vessels in trees, we show that air bubbles are formed spontaneously when water ascends in artificial vessels with super-hydrophilic surface and end-wall pits. Contrary to the traditional believe, we show that air bubbles together with end-wall structures of xylem help water to ascend to a level that cannot be achieved in a continuous water column; the water ascent persists even in the presence of a small pressure gradient despite large numbers of air bubbles. The result may contribute a new explanation for water movement in higher plants.

关键词： Artifical vessel Superhydrophilic surface End-wall

作者: Chun-Xiong Luo Man-Hui Sun Meng-Yang Sun Lin Jia Qi Ouyang Hang Ji Yong Chen

作者单位: Center for Microfluidic and Nanotechnology, School of Physics Center for Microfluidic and Nanotechnology, School of Physics Center for the theoretical biology, Pe Ecole Normale Superieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris, France

会议类型: 国际会议

会议名称: The First Shenyang International Colloquium on Micrifluidics(首届沈阳国际微流控学术论坛)

会议地点: 沈阳

会议语种:英文

页码: 86-89

在线出版日期: 2007-10-21（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）