Development of one experimental module to study the modulation of the propagation velocity of chemical excitation waves in gel by weak external force (gravity).

Biological and chemical systems in which the pattern of flow of energy and matter imposes self-organization can be seen as examples of excitable media. One property of such media is the presence of excitation waves. The Belouzov-Zabotinsky(B-Z) reaction system and the retinal spreading depression wave are examples of experimental models of excitable media in which the influence of gravity can be studied. In this paper we describe one especial module constructed to test the influence of gravity in gels of the B-Z system. In the gel condition, convection effects are minimized. The results will be directly comparable to retinal experiments programmed by the same group and complete a series of investigations of systematic comparison of the modulation of chemical and biological excitation waves by weak external forces.