Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
action potential
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
neuron; conduction of the action potential ion permeance and action potential graph depicting the five phases of the action potential of the heart muscle Synapse
For Students
action potential summary
Discover
African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.
Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement
Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"
How Deadly Is Quicksand?
New Zealand. Political/Physical map. Includes locator.
Where Is “Old Zealand”?
Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom)
The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church
Small, white rat (genus Rattus) on a glass table. (rodent, laboratory, experiment)
Cruel and Unusual Punishments: 15 Types of Torture
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)
9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

action potential: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/action-potential
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As propagated potential

Photos

neuron; conduction of the action potential
ion permeance and action potential
graph depicting the five phases of the action potential of the heart muscle
Synapse
See All Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Ragnar Arthur Granit
Swedish physiologist