>>differential distribution of electric charges on the outside of the membrane compared to the inside of the membrane.

I had thought that all our cells had similar potassium/sodium pumps and so produced an ionic imbalance across the membrane - no?

>>membrane potential is restricted to the distribution of ions very very close to the membrane itself

Charge distribution in a capacitor works like this, although electrons move much more freely in metals than ions do in cytosol. I'm hoping you get to signal transmission down an axon, the cascade from pore to pore, each reacting to a change in its close vicinity, how increasing both capacitive insulation and separation with myelin changes this (e.g. squids vs us) and how 'electrical' (IMO really ionic as there's molecular flow) synapses affect things. I take them to be a kind of crosstalk, and possibly a way to 'smear' the way chemical synapses work (in the sense that a larger potential can jump over to other axons and so provide more signal to the dendrites on the other side of the cleft - as opposed to the classical 'fire once only for above-threshold, no matter how far above').

Feel free to tell me I'm an idiot - I'm a recently retired techie trying to figure out biology (major lesson so far: it never seems to work the way you'd expect).

And thanks very much for having written this!