Work out bacterial growth rate instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Fits exponential growth through two cell counts to give the specific growth rate, the number of generations and the doubling time.
Exponential growth
mu = ln(N/N0) / t; generations = log2(N/N0); doubling time = t / generations
Only during the exponential phase; lag and stationary phases break the exponential assumption.
About 20 minutes for E. coli in rich medium, but hours to days for slow-growing organisms such as mycobacteria.