Reciprocal lattice recombination

Remember from Chapter 4 that the periods and frequencies of waves are reciprocally related.) Exactly those properties are expressed by their reciprocal lattice vectors h. The amplitudes of these electron density waves vary according to the distribution of atoms about the planes. Although the electron density waves in the crystal cannot be observed directly, radiation diffracted by the planes (the Fourier transforms of the electron density waves) can. Thus, while we cannot recombine directly the spectral components of the electron density in real space, the Bragg planes, we can Fourier transform the scattering functions of the planes, the Fhki, and simultaneously combine them in such a way that the end result is the same, the electron density in the unit cell. In other words, each Fhki in reciprocal, or diffraction space is the Fourier transform of one family of planes, hkl. With the electron density equation, we both add these individual Fourier transforms together in reciprocal space, and simultaneously Fourier transform the result of that summation back into real space to create the electron density. 

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