Kappaphobia is the elephant in the fret room

Abstract

Abstract FRET is both a phenomenon and a spectroscopic technique, capable of measuring one geometric quantity: kappa-squared divided by the sixth power of the donor-acceptor distance. Kappa-squared is often replaced by a constant even though such a replacement may lead to serious errors. Kappaphobia, the fear of kappa or the reluctance to deal with kappa-squared adequately, is a looming presence in the FRET community. Unfortunately, this reluctance, or fear, is often tolerated, and sometimes encouraged. A decrease in kappaphobia will lead to an increase in the impact and success of FRET.