X-ray crystallography

A technique in which the pattern produced by the diffraction of x-rays through the closely spaced lattice of atoms in a crystal are recorded and then analyzed to reveal the nature of that lattice.

The material and molecular structure of a substance can often be inferred from the quantitative study of this pattern. It is widely used in chemistry and biochemistry to determine the structure of molecules.

• Fourier transform
• reciprocal space
• diffractometer
• molecular model
• space group