Diffracted Light XRD

X-ray diffraction (XRD) helps scientists determine the structure of crystalline materials and the stoichiometry of the materials within the crystals. It s based on Bragg s Law of Diffraction (nA = 2d Sin0) that describes how a crystalline material diffracts light waves when they pass through it. Crystalline materials cause diffraction because of the regular and periodic placement of atoms in the crystal. The crystalline and ordered structure breaks up the solid stream of x-ray waves into fragmented streams of x-ray waves according to the crystal order in the material. 

Many pure crystals have been tested by scientists so a library of data now exists that can be used as a comparison against the values obtained by the experimenter. 

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