Hi James,
It seems to me that the units of "B" and "u^2" cannot both be A^2 any more
than 1 radian can be equated to 1 degree.
that seems a very odd comparison to me. radian and degree are both units
for angle, just as are yard and meter. It doesn't mean that 1yd = 1m.
Why do you get confused that two different things share the same unit? The
area of a football field is about 5000m^2 = 5*10^23 A^2. You wouldn't
introduce a new unit for area just to make sure people don't get confused
thinking the area of a football field had anything to do with the B-factor
or square atomic displacement parameter, would you?
If you get confused because people don't properly define the units they
use in their publications, referees should make sure that authors do. I
don't see a reason to introduce a new unit only because people cannot
decide upon an unambiguous definition. It would only get more and more
confusing if you get too many units.
-James Holton
MAD Scientist
Cheers, Tim
