Swimming efficiency of bacterium <i>Escherichia</i> <i>coli</i>
Swimming efficiency of bacterium <i>Escherichia</i> <i>coli</i>
We use measurements of swimming bacteria in an optical trap to determine fundamental properties of bacterial propulsion. In particular, we directly measure the force required to hold the bacterium in the optical trap and determine the propulsion matrix, which relates the translational and angular velocity of the flagellum to the …