Resolution: Difference between revisions

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-Resolution is an average value for the uncertainty of atomic positions in a [[X-ray crystallography|crystallographic model]]. High values for resolution (e.g. 5.0 &Aring;) mean high uncertainty, and low values (e.g. 1.0 &Aring;) mean much less uncertainty. '''2.05 Å''' is the '''median''' resolution for [[X-ray crystallography|X-ray crystallographic]] results in the Protein Data Bank (43,066 on May 2, 2008).
+''Resolution'', in structure determinations, is the distance corresponding to the smallest observable feature: if two objects are closer than this distance, they appear as one combined blob rather than two separate objects.
-The uncertainty for each atom is quantitated in its [[Temperature_value|temperature value]].
+'''2.05 Å''' is the '''median''' resolution for [[X-ray crystallography|X-ray crystallographic]] results in the Protein Data Bank (88,701 on May 15, 2014). For comparison, the van der Waals diameter of a carbon atom is 3.4 &Aring;<ref name="atomsize">See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_radii_of_the_elements_(data_page) Atomic radii of the elements (Wikipedia)].</ref>, and the length of a carbon-carbon bond is 1.5 &Aring;<ref name="atomsize" />.
+The uncertainty of the position of each atom in a crystallographic model is quantitated in its [[Temperature_value|temperature value]].
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