X-ray diffraction

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Phenomenon in which the atoms of a crystal, by virtue of their uniform spacing, cause an interference pattern of the waves in an incident beam of X-rays. The crystal's atomic planes act on the X-rays in the same way a uniformly ruled grating acts on a beam of light ( polarization). The interference pattern is specific to each substance and gives information on the structure of the atoms or molecules in the crystal. William Henry Bragg.

Find more facts and information related to the .
Copyright 1994-2007 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Degrees of quantumness: shades of gray in particle-wave duality.(This Week) ; ...on howthey overlap, and create an interference pattern of light and dark stripes on the...stream of photons. To explain the interference pattern, physicists say that each photon...according to quantum theory, the interference pattern--a wave phenomenon--would disappear... Read more
	Interference of light scattered by two ions. (research on polarized light patterns) ; ...observed for the first time a similar interference pattern created by laser light deflected...the scattered light, they saw an interference pattern for one type of polarized light...the other type. The absence of an interference pattern in the latter case can be interpreted... Read more
	Beams of stuff. (experiments in the quantum nature of matter) ; ...colliding on a pond--they create an interference pattern of peaks and valleys. Wherever the...interferometer, a detector records the interference pattern created. One's first impression...water waves and get the same sort of interference pattern. But then Pritchard adds one detail... Read more
	More to it than meets the eye.(Smart Holograms) ; ...fields. A hologram is a special interference pattern created in a photosensitive medium...actually striking the object that the interference pattern is encoding. The pattern itself...photosensitive medium and the result is the interference pattern that generates the 3-D picture... Read more
	Linking particles, waves, and uncertainties. (complementarity and uncertainty principle research) ; ...waves, they create a striped interference pattern on the screen (corresponding...travels through destroys the interference pattern. A researcher ends up observing either the interference pattern or the electron's path, but... Read more
	Electron excitement in three dimensions. ; ...associated with the electrons produce an interference pattern. In the Sept. 19 PHYSICAL REVIEW...measured, then this two-dimensional interference pattern can be mathematically converted...thought it useful to measure the full interference pattern in two dimensions. No one ... Read more
	Optical reference flats.(New Products) ; ...contact with a test surface and viewed with a monochromatic light, an interference pattern of light and dark bands is formed. The shape of this interference pattern provides an accurate visual representation of the flatness of the test... Read more
	Quantum loophole: some quirks of physics can be good for science.(This Week) ; ...depending on how these features line up. The resulting interference pattern reveals tiny differences in how far the two beams traveled...example, a small displacement of one mirror will cause the interference pattern to shift. The precision of such a measurement depends... Read more
	Lighting the way to speedier circuits. (the first electronic switch controlled entirely by light) ; ...The two separate beams produce an interference pattern where they meet again and recombine...beam but not the other alters the interference pattern. Injecting a hosrt light pulse into...it would otherwise, shifting the interference pattern. The researchers use this brief... Read more
	Translucent. (time-resolved holography presents an alternative to traditional x-ray diagnosis) ; ...same time. The plate records the interference pattern made by the reference beam and the...bounced off your face. The recorded interference pattern is a hologram. If another laser...excited by both beams record a form of interference pattern in the plastic. Because of the dye... Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	X-ray diffraction crystallography X-ray diffraction crystallography A method of analysis in which an X-ray beam of known wavelength is directed at a crystal, and the beam is diffracted by reflections off planes of atoms in the crystal... Read more
	X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography the...crystal structures through X-ray diffraction techniques. When an X-ray beam bombards a crystalline...phenomenon, known as X-ray diffraction, occurs when the wavelength...sodium chloride using X-ray crystallography, ... Read more
	X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography The use of X-ray diffraction to determine the structure of...on a photographic plate. The diffraction pattern consists of a pattern...positions and intensities of the diffraction spots. X-rays are diffracted... Read more
	X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography Use of X-rays to discover the molecular structure of crystals . It uses the phenomenon of X-ray diffraction, the scattering of an X-ray beam by the atomic structure of a crystal, and has been used to show that DNA can produce crystals. Read more
	X ray ...produced in a highly evacuated glass bulb, called an X-ray tube, that contains essentially two electrodes&mdash...anode. Two different processes give rise to radiation of X-ray frequency. In one process radiation is emitted by the...in the second process. The sharp peaks constitute the ... Read more

See all related entries

For Students and teachers!

HighBeam Encyclopedia provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including: