PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - M. G. Bowler
TI  - The physics of osmotic pressure
AID  - 10.1101/116806
DP  - 2017 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 116806
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/03/14/116806.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/03/14/116806.full
AB  - The proper application of the virial theorem to the origin of osmotic pressure provides a simple, vivid and complete explanation of the physical processes involved; osmosis is driven by differential solvent pressures. This simple and intuitive notion is widely disregarded, but the virial theorem allows an exact formulation and unifies a number of different treatments. It is closely related to a kinetic treatment devised by Ehrenfest over 100 years ago.