- proton motive force
- sodium motive force
- membrane potential
- chemical ion gradients
Operational definition
Conserved energetic state.
The potential for work created by an ion’s unequal electrochemical state across a membrane.
It combines:
- the chemical contribution from unequal concentration;
- the electrical contribution from voltage across the membrane.
For an ion, the available energy depends on both components. A membrane voltage alone is not the complete electrochemical potential.