Alternative-Current Field-Induced Forces and Their Biological Implications

Steady‐state, field‐induced forces on particles of microscopic size become significant at field strength values of the order of 100 v/cm. They include "pearl‐chain formation," i.e. the alignment of particles in the direction of the imposed field, and the orientation of nonspherical particles. The time constant, which describes the speed of these phenomena, depends on field strength, and particle and other parameters. For pulsed fields, a lower level of applied average power can suffice to evoke the phenomena mentioned. Biological implications include the possibility of nonthermal effects of biological significance.