zlacker

> I recall from school the equipartition theorem-- 1/2 KT of kinetic energy for each degree of freedom. These things obviously have many degrees of freedom. So wouldn't they be "thrashing around" like rag doll in a blender at room temperature?

It's funny you say that, because the first image on the English Wikipedia page for Equipartition Theorem[1] is an animation of the thermal motion of a peptide.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipartition_theorem

>>paraph+(OP)
BTW, in terms of protein dynamics, before you even think about the thrashing around- 1.2kt at room temperature is enough to form and break hydrogen bonds in real time (around 1-2kcal) so presumably, protein h-bonds are breaking and reforming spontaneously at scale.