Osmosis¶
Watch water cross a partially permeable membrane while the larger solute particles stay behind, so the overall water movement is towards the side with lower water potential.
What This Simulation Does Not Show¶
- Real water and solute molecules are much smaller than shown, and there are vastly more of them. The larger dots here are only used to make the solute visible.
- In a real cell, water building up on one side would increase pressure and gradually reduce the net flow. Here the chambers stay the same size, so water keeps moving until the concentrations balance.
- The membrane here blocks solute completely. Real partially permeable membranes are more selective: some solutes cross slowly, and water often travels through protein channels called aquaporins.