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X-Ray Diffraction Pattern

X-ray diffraction occurs during the interaction of x-ray waves with a regular structure with repeat distances about the same as the wavelength of the x-ray. It is a common phenomenon. Because x-rays have wavelengths in the same range as the typical interatomic distance in a crystalline solid, x-ray diffraction patterns can give a great deal of information about the structures of minerals and other crystalline substances.

X-rays scattered from a crystalline solid may interfere with one another to produce a diffracted beam. A diffractometer can read the x-ray diffraction pattern of any crystalline solid, allowing investigators to identify unknown minerals without damaging the sample, or to determine the structure of a mineral already known. Data about already-identified minerals are gathered and published by the JCPDS-International Centre for Diffraction Data.

Patterns produced by an x-ray diffraction device are processed into charts detailing information like lambda (the wavelength of the x-ray), the theta value, and the d-spacing. The lambda and theta are already known from either the process used or the basic information put out by the diffraction pattern. The equation resulting from x-ray diffraction leaves one unknown value – d. In each structure, the theta and d will be unique to the mineral or crystal.

Web Resources On X-Ray Diffraction Pattern

X-Ray Powder Diffraction
Bragg's Law and Diffraction

Book Resources On X-Ray Diffraction Pattern

X-ray diffraction patterns of polymers by June W. Turley
On the correspondence of the small-angle and wide-angle x-ray diffraction patterns of wood fibers by Martti Kantola

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