Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-biological-physics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021/4/a/solution

The stipulated DNA volume is and the spherical capsid volume is . Thus
The packed DNA occupies a substantial fraction of the available space: the remaining nominal fraction is . Compared with the paper's stated reference, it reaches about of that value. This indicates dense confinement, but does not prove crystalline order or specify interstrand spacing. DNA is a connected elongated polymer, rather than a collection of independent hard spheres.
There is also a numerical qualification: the exact densest equal-sphere packing fraction is , not . Using it changes the comparison to about without changing the calculated volume fraction or its physical interpretation.

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