On Wed, 28 Dec 2022 08:26:24 +0100
Mikael Sundqvist via ntg-context
Note that the 2 sits higher in
\primed{a}^2
than it does in
(a')^2.
For readability, I really prefer the version with parentheses.
Certain Mathematical writing styles seek to minimize the use of parenthesis ... Now, the question is whether a prime is considered an exponent or rather some sort of accent? One can ask the same question considering other modifiers such as asterisk/star or even $\hat{a}$. Sometimes, these can symbolize operators, in other cases they may indicate a variant (as does prime). I suspect that Context is currently treating $\primed{a}^2$ as ${a^{\prime}}^2$ (although, maybe the 2 is not made smaller?). Aesthetically, should $x^2$ and $\hat{x}^2$ display any difference in the placement of the exponent? Alan P.S. As a challenge, consider the following: \chemical{^{14}_6C^*} (a chiral carbon-14 atom).