What specific time unit, representing one quadrillionth of a second, is often used to measure the very small time steps in MD calculations?
Answer
Femtoseconds
Molecular Dynamics simulations progress by calculating the movement of atoms over extremely small increments of time to maintain numerical stability and accuracy when integrating the equations of motion. This foundational time step is typically measured in femtoseconds, which is defined as one quadrillionth (10^-15) of a second. Although the simulation moves forward in these minuscule femtosecond steps, researchers string together millions of these steps to successfully simulate biological timescales, which can range up to microseconds or even milliseconds, thereby capturing relevant conformational changes.
Related Questions
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