The electrons on the hydrogens won't be centered about the proton
nucleus, so if you want to resolve that as anything more than a bump,
you will need a lot better than 1 Å (or neutrons). But in fairness
the original question asked what you can call "high" resolution, not
what you can call atomic resolution. I think anything better than ~3
Å should allow unambiguous definition of nucleotide and amino acid
positions.
On May 15, 2008, at 11:28 AM, Ed Pozharski wrote:
Of course. However, C=0 bond is ~1.2A, and bonds made by those pesky
hydrogens are ~1A. And I would think (it is semantics again) that to
reach atomic resolution you have to resolve all atoms, otherwise
"All atoms are equal, but some (non-hydrogens) are more equal than
others."
Cheers,
Ed.
On Thu, 2008-05-15 at 10:08 -0700, William Scott wrote:
On May 15, 2008, at 10:01 AM, Ed Pozharski wrote:
1.2A (not surprisingly since this is about the length of covalent
bond).
A carbon-carbon single bond is about 1.55 Å.
--
Edwin Pozharski, PhD, Assistant Professor
University of Maryland, Baltimore
----------------------------------------------
When the Way is forgotten duty and justice appear;
Then knowledge and wisdom are born along with hypocrisy.
When harmonious relationships dissolve then respect and devotion
arise;
When a nation falls to chaos then loyalty and patriotism are born.
------------------------------ / Lao Tse /
