So I understand from this a Work Unit I'm processing is a piece of a clone, or Generation. Like I have Gen 13 now...Aren’t these the PRCG numbers?
Yes. Work Units are labeled with four distinct numbers in the format: Project (Run, Clone, Generation). We just described the first three; Project is the protein under study, a Run is a simulation started from a particular conformation, and Runs contain many Clones which have different initial velocities. Although Folding@home processes many different Projects, Runs, and Clones all at the same time, Clones themselves are serial in nature. They have to be simulated from start to finish, but it would be impractical for one computer to complete one by itself. Instead, your computer is given a piece of a Clone. We identify the piece using the Generation (Gen) number. One computer will start out with Generation 0, and when it finishes another computer is given Generation 1, etc. We cannot start Gen 1 until Gen 0 finishes, and there may be hundreds of Gens. This is why the Work Units have deadlines, and why speed is so important to us.
Is it possible to get an idea of the size of the Work Unit I'm working on relative to all Generations or relative to the entire Project/Run/Clone, whichever is meaningful or known... just to get an idea of the order of magnitude of my contributions relative to the whole, in simple terms?
There is strength in numbers, as you say. And ants do great. Still, I like that it's 27 on the certificate, without a bunch of zeros... and I sort of understand the rationale for the points system! Thanks for the illustration!