An X-ray diffractometer aims a beam of X-rays at a crystalline sample and measures the angles and intensities of the diffracted beams, from which the spacing of the crystal's atomic planes can be calculated using Bragg's law. Max von Laue discovered in 1912 that a crystal diffracts X-rays, work for which he received the 1914 Nobel Prize in Physics; William Henry Bragg and his son William Lawrence Bragg used the effect to build the first X-ray spectrometer in 1913 and to work out the equation, now called Bragg's law, that turns a diffraction pattern into a crystal structure, sharing the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics for the achievement.
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ResolutionNot stated as a numeric figure in the cited source. 1 No angstrom-level resolution figure given in this general article. Operating RangeNot stated as a numeric figure for modern instruments; historically, X-rays of about 1 angstrom wavelength were used for this technique. 1 Source gives no modern instrument wavelength or diffraction-angle range, only a historical wavelength figure. Invented Year MeasuresThe angles and intensities of X-rays diffracted by a crystalline sample, from which the spacing of the crystal's atomic planes is calculated. 1 Operating PrincipleGoverned by Bragg's law: X-rays scattered from evenly spaced atomic planes in a crystal combine constructively only at specific angles set by the plane spacing and the X-ray wavelength. 1 Classification
Instrument Class Connections
Invented By
Designed and built the first ionization X-ray spectrometer in 1912 to 13 with his son Lawrence, announced in their joint paper of April 1913; the two shared the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics for the work.
Source X-ray Diffraction Spectrometer (Britannica)
Worked out the diffraction law behind the X-ray spectrometer his father William built in 1912 to 13; the two shared the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Source X-ray Diffraction Spectrometer (Britannica)
Used In
Source William Lawrence Bragg (Britannica)
Source X-ray Diffraction Spectrometer (Britannica)
X-ray diffraction is crystallography's central technique; this edge was unreachable before the crystallography discipline entity existed.
Source Crystallography (Wikipedia)
Source X-ray Diffraction Spectrometer (Britannica)
Source Rosalind Franklin (Wikipedia)
Source Condensed Matter Physics (Wikipedia)
Source Max von Laue (Britannica)
Source Maurice Wilkins (Britannica)
Sources
1. X-ray Diffraction (Wikipedia)
WikipediaBasics section
X-rays scattered from adjacent planes will combine constructively when the angle...results in a path-length difference that is an integer multiple n of the X-ray wavelength
Lede, instrument class
An X-ray diffractometer aims a beam of X-rays at a crystalline sample and measures the angles and intensities of the diffracted beams, from which the spacing of the crystal's atomic planes can be calculated using Bragg's law.
View the Source 2. X-ray Diffraction Spectrometer (Britannica)
Condensed Matter Physics (Wikipedia)
Max von Laue (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaUsed In: Von Laue's X-ray Diffraction ExperimentView the Source William Lawrence Bragg (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaUsed In: Bragg's Analysis of Sodium ChlorideView the Source Maurice Wilkins (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaUsed In: Wilkins's DNA X-ray Diffraction StudiesView the Source Rosalind Franklin (Wikipedia)
Crystallography (Wikipedia)
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