Early Days of X-ray Crystallography

Abstract

2012 marked the centenary of one of the most significant discoveries of the early twentieth century: the discovery of X-ray diffraction in March 1912 by Laue, Friedrich, and Knipping, and of the birth of X-analysis with Bragg’s law in November 1912. The discovery of X-ray diffraction confirmed the wave nature of X-rays and the space-lattice hypothesis. The book stresses the unique role played by X-ray diffraction in the analysis of the structure of atoms and in the determination of the atomic structure of materials. It relates the discovery itself and the context in which it was made: the local context (Munich) and the scientific context (the discussions taking place at that time about the nature, wave or corpuscular, of X-rays, and about the concept of space lattice). The way the discovery spread round the world and the early investigations are described. The book explains how the basic theories of X-ray diffraction and the main methods of investigations were developed, and how the first crystal structures were determined, and recounts which were the first applications of X-ray crystallography in chemistry, mineralogy, material science, biology, physics, and X-ray spectroscopy. It also tells how the concept of space lattice matured between Ancient times and the end of the nineteenth century, and how our understanding of the nature of light has changed over time. The contributions of the main actors of the story, prior to the discovery, at the time of the discovery, and immediately afterwards, are described through their writings and are put into a contemporary context, accompanied by brief biographical details.

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