The Body Electric: Signals and Systems
Discover how your body uses the laws of physics to move, think, and sense the world. Explore the hidden electrical circuits and wave patterns that keep your biological systems in sync.
Like Duolingo, but for The Body Electric: Signals and Systems. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 24 levels across 3 sections, about 48 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Mastering the Body's Control Center, Sensing the World Through Waves, and The Science of Internal Forces. It assumes you already know the basics.
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Key ideas in The Body Electric: Signals and Systems
- A nerve cell prepares to fire by moving charged particles to create a state of high pressure
- The physical gap is an impassable barrier for the pulse
- To trigger a signal, the nerve cell must allow particles to move by opening tiny gates
- Chemicals act as a bridge to restart the signal in the next cell
- The process of neural signaling
- Nerve signals are waves of charge, not moving physical objects
- How a nerve cell generates its own electrical charge for a pulse
- The signal moves instantly while the atoms in the nerve stay in place
- The sequence of events when a signal crosses the gap between neurons
- Opposite charges create a pull that can drag other molecules along
- Cells build up a 'battery' of ions on one side of a membrane
- Muscles require a specific 'push' from charged particles to move
- Minerals provide the raw materials for the body's electrical signals
- Stored ions act like a dam waiting to be released
- How the body uses charge to move specific molecules into cells
- The movement of charge is what actually does the work
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Body Electric: Signals and Systems the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When a signal reaches the end of a nerve cell, why doesn't the electricity simply spark over to the next one?
Get it right to open this lesson and 23 more in the app.
How to learn The Body Electric: Signals and Systems, step by step
Go in order. 24 short levels across 3 sections, about 48 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Mastering the Body's Control Center
- Biological Circuits: How Nerves Send Signals
- The Push and Pull of Charged Particles
- Managing Flow and Resistance in the Body
- How Organs Work Together as a System
- 2
Sensing the World Through Waves
- Catching Vibrations: The Physics of Hearing
- How Light Bends to Create Vision
- When Waves Collide: Interference and Echoes
- The Invisible Spectrum: Beyond Visible Light
- Frequency and Pitch: The Music of Biology
- 3
The Science of Internal Forces
- Magnetic Fields and Medical Imaging
- How Muscles Generate Electrical Power
- The Energy Tradeoff in Complex Systems
3 sections · 12 units · 24 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about The Body Electric: Signals and Systems
How do I learn The Body Electric: Signals and Systems?
Go in order: start with Mastering the Body's Control Center, then Sensing the World Through Waves, then The Science of Internal Forces. On Tomo that's 24 short levels, about 48 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Body Electric: Signals and Systems?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Body Electric: Signals and Systems is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is The Body Electric: Signals and Systems free?
Yes. The Body Electric: Signals and Systems is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn The Body Electric: Signals and Systems?
24 levels across 3 sections, about 48 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start The Body Electric: Signals and Systems?
No. It's pitched at an intermediate level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
The Body Electric: Signals and Systems is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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