IAC E

the architecture of bone

the collagen, however,
is piezoelectric

but/and let us cut to the bone

bone is in large part
made up of collagen

The collagen behaves as an
"A" smectic paracrystalline liquid.

Bone is 60% mineral
and 40% organic matter.
Most of the latter is collagen.

see Living Crystals

before 2012 it was thought that the mineral content of bone,
calcium phosphate,
in the form of "apatite",
a crystalline gem hard mineral,
occurred as (multiple) single crystals in the lattice-like spaces
in the lattice-like collagen array of molecular fibers.

it now seems (since 2012) that the mineral is little (nano) packets
of stacked apatite "platelet"/crystals

I am not clear about the electrical and transductive behaviour
of the apatite crystals... yet.
however, they are not piezoelectric (in the usual sense of that word)

The collagen fibers, though, are piezoelectric!

(c.f. Rudolph Steiner's ear)

In biological systems "… the reference value of the piezoelectric effect is based on measurements of piezoelectric characteristics. Data reported up to now show great differences between publications (up to 4 orders of magnitude)."

Lemaire et al Bull Math Biol 2011 73:2649
"A Multiscale Theoretical… "

"hydration" is an important,
but complicated factor,
in determining the
piezoelectricity
in collagen
and bone

the lamellae, in the osteons, do indeed slide and "telescope" when bone it torqued

the individual molecules of collagen
(the triple helixes)
are piezoelectric.

they have been demonstrated in particular circumstances to show
"second harmonic generation"
(though whether this can occur
physiologically is moot.)

Microelectrode studies of stress generated potentials in bone show that the local electrical fields are one to two orders of magnitude (that's 10 to 100 times) higher than estimates based on macro determination of average fields.

Pollack et al: Microelectrode studies of stress generated potentials in bone; in Brighton et al: Electrical Properties of Bone and Cartilage, 1979.

Feynman lectures: (with reference to "rectangular waves") in a coaxial cable, as an oscillating signal increases in frequency the electrical resistance rapidly falls to zero. For a high frequency signal a coaxial cable acts as a superconductor.
. Collagen is surely, a coaxial system.

"…the presence of citrate …
helps restore the platelet stacks after stress released…" (Duer)

can the packets,then,
store energy?

Salubrious Oscillations/
Good Vibrations

salubrious means healthy

	science	Norman Allan	alternative medicine	email
pattern and resonance: contents science and philosophy biography blog

	the architecture of bone

	well, here are some of the illustrations I was going to use to describe the structure of bone: however: here I am 25 years on from looking at this and writing about it, and...! I discover that the mineral in bone is not (strictly speaking) "piezoelectric"! Back to the drawing board!	the collagen, however, is piezoelectric

	but/and let us cut to the bone	bone is in large part made up of collagen

		The collagen behaves as an "A" smectic paracrystalline liquid. Bone is 60% mineral and 40% organic matter. Most of the latter is collagen. see Living Crystals



	before 2012 it was thought that the mineral content of bone, calcium phosphate, in the form of "apatite", a crystalline gem hard mineral, occurred as (multiple) single crystals in the lattice-like spaces in the lattice-like collagen array of molecular fibers. it now seems (since 2012) that the mineral is little (nano) packets of stacked apatite "platelet"/crystals I am not clear about the electrical and transductive behaviour of the apatite crystals... yet. however, they are not piezoelectric (in the usual sense of that word) The collagen fibers, though, are piezoelectric! (c.f. Rudolph Steiner's ear)

	collagen

	collagen, the structural/matrix element/fibers in connective tissue, is a protein made up of a sequence of amino acids with glycine as every third amino acid. this first illustration is probably easier to understand bottom first (but gets confusing if we flip it)	connective tissue is made up of two main components: fibers (always some collagen and sometimes elastin fibers), and a gel-like ground substance (most notably hyaluronic acid)








	bone



(a) (b) (c)	Duer: J. Magnetic Resonance 253 (2015) pp.98-110 collagen fibril mineral platelet mineral particle (stack of platelets) collagen fibril ("spatitic" a typo for apatitic [of apatite] ?) (disordered surface layer containing water and hydrated phosphate ions) collagen fibril water citrate layer citrate molecule collagen fibril
	(a) Schematic view of the current model of Duer's model of the organic-inorganic composite nanostructure of bone. Polycrystaline mineral particles, consisting of stacks of (single crystal) mineral platelets are sandwiched into the space between collagen fibrils. The large platelet (100) faces are parallel to each other and the platelet c axis is strongly ordered with the collagen fibril axis. (b) Schematic view of the structure of a single mineral platelet, with an atomically-ordered core resembling the hydroapatite structure (with substitutions) surrounded by a surface layer of disordered hydrated mineral ions. (c) Schematic view of the detailed structural model of bone mineral showing how citrate anions and water bind the mineral platelets together (and how water is involved at the mineral-collagen interface also.)

	piezoelectricity "crystal set" gramophone	In biological systems "… the reference value of the piezoelectric effect is based on measurements of piezoelectric characteristics. Data reported up to now show great differences between publications (up to 4 orders of magnitude)." Lemaire et al Bull Math Biol 2011 73:2649 "A Multiscale Theoretical… " "hydration" is an important, but complicated factor, in determining the piezoelectricity in collagen and bone

		the lamellae, in the osteons, do indeed slide and "telescope" when bone it torqued

		With reference to bone as an piezoelectric organ which might sense e.m. field, note that: according to Sakada: in the periosteum there are slow and rapid responding receptors. The slow receptors are sensing pressure and pain, and low frequency vibration! roughly 0.5 to 10 Hz. The rapid response receptors are sensing pressure, pain, and high frequency vibration, up to 500Hz, with a their greatest discriminative ability between 100 and 300 Hz (the octave below middle C) Sakada: Physiology of Mechanical Senses of the Oral Structure: Frontiers of Oral Physiology, vol 4, pp 1-32, 1983

		the individual molecules of collagen (the triple helixes) are piezoelectric. they have been demonstrated in particular circumstances to show "second harmonic generation" (though whether this can occur physiologically is moot.)

		Microelectrode studies of stress generated potentials in bone show that the local electrical fields are one to two orders of magnitude (that's 10 to 100 times) higher than estimates based on macro determination of average fields. Pollack et al: Microelectrode studies of stress generated potentials in bone; in Brighton et al: Electrical Properties of Bone and Cartilage, 1979.


		Feynman lectures: (with reference to "rectangular waves") in a coaxial cable, as an oscillating signal increases in frequency the electrical resistance rapidly falls to zero. For a high frequency signal a coaxial cable acts as a superconductor. . Collagen is surely, a coaxial system.

		"…the presence of citrate … helps restore the platelet stacks after stress released…" (Duer) can the packets,then, store energy?


		the net e.m.fields, gross e.m. fields are going to be zero-ish (balance/average out) - the micro fields, though, may be large (how are they broadcasting?

	Salubrious Oscillations/ Good Vibrations	salubrious means healthy

	I saw an article in June '06 that vibrations, standing on a vibrating plate, can increase bone and muscle mass! The vibrations used were 34 Hz (cycles per second) through a distance of 50 micrometers (a hair's breadth) such that the acceleration involved was a quarter of a gravity, and I wondered what order of magnitude is this? Is it comparable to thevibrations we feel in our bodies when we sing or chant? Then in October '07 there was an article about mice on a vibrating plate that just hums quietly (at 90 Hz) and they gained 27% bone mass and lost a comparable amount of fat. A quiet hum. That is the order of magnitude of chanting or singing. So chanting, or singing, might be very healthy. Might help us gain muscle and bone and lose weight.
	Low Buzz May Give Mice Better Bones and Less Fat New York Times 30 October 2007 Dr. Rubin of the State University of New York "put mice on a platform that buzzes at such a low frequency that some people cannort even feel it.(I think the author means "amplitude". The only frequency the article mentions in 90Hz, which is audible.) The mice stand there for 15 minutes a day, five days a week. Afterward, they have 27% less fat than mice that did not stand on the platform - and dorrespondingly more bone. ... Dr. Rubin speculates "that fat precursor cells are turning into bone"
	SCIENTIST GETS VIBES TO BUILD BONES. Globe and Mail, 13 June 2006 "Device to help space travelers approved to treat sufferers of osteoporosis." The device is a machine that generates vibrations - vibration implies acceleration/deceleration, and is therefore somewhat like gravity - therefore in theory, and it seems in practice, good for maintenance of bone mass in zero gravity (it was designed for use in space). On earth, the article says, "a person who stands on [the platform of the vibration device] for 20 minutes a day can build bone density an average of 2 percent a year. ... By sending small vibrations through the body - moving about 50 micrometers (or the thickness of a few human hairs) up and down and repeating at a rate of 34 cycles per second - the platform triggers musculoskeletal stimulations that naturally occur... the vibrations from the platform are set to a frequency that [generates acceleration that] is one-third that of gravity... and is therefore safe. Other devices (exercise machines) which generate 4 to 15 gravities are dangerous, we are told. The thing that I find interesting here is that a relatively subtle vibration is having an appreciable (positive) effect on body metabolism and function. I am therefore wondering what the vibrational effects of chanting, OM, for instance, are? We'd need an engineer to tell us about the difference in order of magnitude between that devise and the vibrations that are set up in your body by, a) a rock band in a bar, b) by chanting, OM for instance. However, orders of magnitude might or might not be of relevance here. Subtle vibrations may be having physiological effects. One would have to look and see. Meanwhile, the safe course would be to do the chanting. It's bound to have salubrious effects at many levels (if not bone mass and muscle mass - muscles, that too was in the article). ("Salubrious" = health promoting - forgive the use of a relatively obscure word.) "Over all the bone density of the controlled group (the reporter has got this wrong - he means "experimental group" as compared to the control group) increased by 3 percent during a year, and muscle mass improved by 4 percent." So get chanting, OM (or what you fancy).

	the individual molecules of collagen (the triple helixes) are piezoelectric. they have been demonstrated in particular circumstances to show "second harmonic generation" (though whether this can occur physiologically is moot.) they have been demonstrated in particular circumstances to show "second harmonic generation" (though whether this can occur physiologically is moot.) Microelectrode studies of stress generated potentials in bone show that the local electrical fields are one to two orders of magnitude (that's 10 to 100 times) higher than estimates based on macro determination of average fields. Pollack et al: Microelectrode studies of stress generated potentials in bone; in Brighton et al: Electrical Properties of Bone and Cartilage, 1979. the net e.m.fields, gross e.m. fields are going to be zero-ish (balance/average out) - the micro fields, though, may be large "…the presence of citrate … helps restore the platelet stacks after stress released…" (Duer) can the packets,then, store energy? Feynman lectures: (with reference to "rectangular waves") in a coaxial cable, as an oscillating signal increases in frequency the electrical resistance rapidly falls to zero. For a high frequency signal a coaxial cable acts as a superconductor. . Collagen is surely, a coaxial system.