X-ray Diffraction

Analytical technique used to determine the structures of crystalline solids. A monochromatic beam of X-raysHigh-energy electromagnetic radiation, with short wavelength (~10-0.01 nm) and high frequency (greater than ~1016 Hertz). Although the boundaries are somewhat arbitrary, wavelengths shorter than 0.01 nm are called gamma-rays and those longer than 10 nm extreme ultraviolet (EUV). X-rays would be produced by blackbody radiation at temperatures in excess of (usually Cu-Kα) is diffracted off repeating planes of atoms in crystalline samples to produce a diffraction pattern. Through analysis of the diffraction pattern, atomic structures can often be determined.