The Diffraction of Röntgen Rays by Crystals

Abstract

I am glad to have this invitation to write about the early days of X-ray analysis, and to pay tribute to Max Von Laue, in recognition both of his fame in the world of science, and of his warm and generous nature which has endeared him to friends all over the world. His discovery of X-ray diffraction is one of those great events in the history of science which occur from time to time, which open up hitherto unknown regions for exploration. I shall not deal with the knowledge it has given us about X-ray spectra, important though it has been in revealing the structure of the atom with as its first result Moseley’s assigning of atomic numbers to the elements. I will confine myself to X-ray analysis, which as a way of revealing the arrangement of atoms in various forms of matter has become one of the powerful weapons of modern science, of which it has profoundly affected nearly every branch. Its findings have by now become so much a part of current scientific thought that it is easy to forget the part that X-ray analysis played in the early days in revolutionizing many ideas about the structure of matter. As one who played a part in the early developments, I may perhaps be forgiven for indulging in reminiscence.