It would be very helpful if when we Tabbed on a band in Foldit, a Band Information window would appear. In this window you could list things like the band's #, its strength (str), its target length (xo), its present length (x), its present extension (x-xo), and if it is enabled or disabled. The Band Information window could behave a lot like the Segment Information window that Foldit shows when we Tab on a segment or residue. If we use control and the right or left arrow, the Band Information window could show information for the next or previous band # instead. If we would advance the band # past the total # of bands, it would show band #1 instead. Similarly, if we would drop the band # below 1, it would show the largest #'d band instead. The Band Information window could also have a line pointing from the window to the band it is showing information for, a bit like the Segment Information window does for its segment.
Some advantages of the Band Information window are as follows:
(1) If you have many bands on the screen, you could use control plus the left or right arrow to scan through them, even if they are buried inside the protein among many other bands.
(2) Using Tab reduces the chance that you will click on a band and accidentally remove it.
(3) It lets the user manually access information like the band's #, its present length x, and its present extension x-xo, information that only seems to be accessible via LUA commands and recipes right now.
The Band Information window could also have a button that brings up the usual band editing tool, allowing the user to delete the band or manually change the band's strength str, its target length xo, and whether it is enabled or disabled. The Band Information window could also include other information, like the band's Hooke's Law spring constant k (which equals the square of the band's strength str, obeying k=str^2), the force F on the band (F = -k (x-xo)), the potential energy U stored in the band (U=(1/2)k(x-xo)^2), and which monomers, segments, and atoms the band connects. It could even name the segments or atoms the band connects, like tyr35N1 for atom 1 (a nitrogen atom) on segment 35 (a tyrosine residue), phe42CA2 for atom 2 (an alpha-carbon or CA) on segment 42 (a phenylalanine), or unk147CB5 for atom 5 (a beta-carbon or CB) on segment 147 (a ligand or unk for unknown). If one end of the band goes to space, the Band Information window could say so. For a band between monomers, it could say m1tyr35N1 for tyr35N1 on monomer 1 or m2phe42CA2 for phe42CA2 on monomer 2.
For more details about Hooke's Law, see the recipe DoBandsObeyHookesLaw1 at https://fold.it/recipes/46844.
Quantities like a band's extension (x-xo) and its force F = -k (x-xo) can have positive or negative values. Having the extension > 0 means the band is stretched beyond its target length xo. Having the extension < 0 means the band is compressed below its target length xo. When a band is stretched, the force F should go in the opposite (negative) direction so that it will reduce the band's present length x. When a band is compressed, the force F should go in the opposite (here positive) direction so that it will increase the band's present length x.
While I think that x and xo are in Angstroms, I'm not so sure what units to use for str, k, F, and U. Also, using scientific notation, like 5.96e-3 (for 5.96 x 10^(-3) or 0.00596) or -8.27e4 (for -8.27 x 10^4 or -82,700), might be helpful for these quantities.
