Bragg's Law
The structures of crystals and molecules are often being identified using x-ray diffraction studies, which are explained by Bragg’s Law. The law explains the relationship between an x-ray light shooting into and its reflection off from crystal surface. Introduction Bragg’s Law was introduced by Sir W.H. Bragg and his son Sir W.L. Bragg. The law states that when the x-ray is incident onto a crystal surface, its angle of incidence, θ θ , will reflect back with a same angle of scattering, θ θ . And, when the path difference, d d is equal to a whole number, n n , of wavelength, a constructive interference will occur. Consider a single crystal with aligned planes of lattice points separated by a distance d . Monochromatic X-rays A, B, and C are incident upon the crystal at an angle θ . They reflect off atoms X, Y, or Z. The path difference between the ray reflected at atom X and the ray reflected at atom Y can be se...