I think the color choice derives from the good ole litmus paper test.... red=acid, blue=basic. There was actually something odd called chemistry once before computers... br
_____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Boaz Shaanan Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 10:24 AM To: Knut Langsestmo Cc: ccp4bb; Warren DeLano Subject: [ccp4bb]: red/blue convention - was: Alternatives to GRASP for electrostatic calculation Hi, The red/blue convention is probably based on political view point. The Capitalists view the red colour and what it symbolizes as negative, which obviously makes the blue positive. Does that mean we crystallographers are Capitalists or should each one of us decide on it according to his views ? Cheers, Boaz ----- Original Message ----- From: Knut Langsestmo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thursday, January 4, 2007 4:01 Subject: Re: [ccp4bb]: Alternatives to GRASP for electrostatic calculation To: ccp4bb <ccp4bb@dl.ac.uk> Cc: Warren DeLano <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > *** For details on how to be removed from this list visit > the *** > *** CCP4 > home page > http://www.ccp4.ac.uk *** > > > > > > I can still remember attending one of my first > crystallography > > seminars > > and being shocked at the apparent confusion of the > distinguished > > speaker > > (the late Paul Sigler, IIRC) who inadvertently referred to red as > > negative and blue as positive. > > i am disturbed that the question didn't get asked. i think > it is > important to ask. if a speaker > is presenting something that seems out of normal understanding, > if > you don't ask, it > doesn't get clarified. i think the physics student > next to you > would have appreciated > a clarification of the different conventions. the question > does not > have to be in the > hostile form of "you are wrong for using that color convention", > but > can be in the form > of "from my background in physics, red is used for positive > charge, > could you confirm > that your convention is to use red for negative charge?" > Boaz Shaanan, Ph.D. Associate Professor Dept. of Life Sciences Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel Phone: 972-8-647-2220 ; Fax: 646-1710 Skype: boaz.shaanan
