Normal Distribution for Mold Growth

This moldy exercise shows the effect of a statistical distribution on the growth of a filamentous organism. Two papers by Yang, et al., (1992) describe experiments and computer models for growth of filamentous, branching molds. Data are presented for the statistical distribution of angles for new growth from the tip and for the distribution of angles when a branch forms. In both cases the distributions were normal.

Our Java program lets you explore the effects of sharp and broad distributions. A small value for the coefficient sigma gives a very narrow distribution while a large sigma gives a broad distribution. This greatly simplified exercise models only a filament that does not branch.