Talk:Supercoil

Excerpt in current version: "Supercoiling" is an abstract mathematical property, and represents the sum of twist and writhe. The relationship of twist, writhe and supercoiling is expressed as the equation: S = T + W This doesn't make a whole lot of sense. This passage would seem to define "supercoiling" as the sum of twist and writhe. But the fact is that this sum never changes and is in fact always equal to the linking number of the two strands of the closed loop of two-strand DNA. As I understand it, supercoiling is the phenomena that occurs when in order to preserve this sum of twist plus writhe in the presence of over (or under) twisting, the DNA reduces the twisting and increases the writhing. --C S (Talk) 15:07, 14 November 2005 (UTC)