Athel wrote:
Pentcho wrote: <
>This bothered me much at first. "Ideality" means not only that - it <
also <
>means that all substrate concentrations, activatiors, inhibitors etc. <
>surrounding the pathway are assumed to be constant. For instance, if we <
have <
>the reaction A + B -> C, and if the analysed pathway includes only A -> <
C, <
>the concentration of B should be constant. <
What alternative do you propose? You have to put the limits of the <
system somewhere, and anything outside them has to be constant if you <
are going to analyse the behaviour of the system in a defined <
environment. Of course, if you are just saying that the system has no <
'natural' limits, then of course you are right, and so the aim should be <
to consider larger and more realistic systems. But you have to be able <
to walk before you can run, and people who start by trying to solve the <
most difficult problem they can define without pausing to look at some <
simpler cases often don't achieve much. <
As I said in my response to Pentcho, you have to understand the simpler <
problems before you try to solve the more difficult ones, but yes, we do <
have to move away from 'ideality'. But this is not confined to mca, it's <
true of all science. <
Athel, I do not understand you. I said the same in my posting, but this is
not a great idea - rather, this is a triviality, and I see no reason in
discussing it.
On the other hand, it matters a lot how we move from the ideal
case in which the surrounding concentrations are assumed constant, to real
ones in which they are not. Honestly, I expected you to explain just this.
If you (or somebody else) don't, I will have to solve the problem myself.
I see no alternative.
The *experimental* result for numerous pathways is that the simpler <
versions of the summation theorems come out right. You could take this <
as evidence that channelling isn't all that important. Then again you <
might prefer a different interpretation... <
If channelling isn't all that important, are the coefficients "global
properties of the system"? You cannot simultaneously advertise the
holistic approach and deny the importance of the links in the system.
Pentcho
