Crystallography as a methodology for scientific development in the 21st Century: A review

摘要

A review of crystallography as a methodology for scientific development in the 21st century is presented. Crystallography was a science about minerals in the 20th century, and crystallographers studied the composition and properties of these objects to give a simple description of them and determine their characteristics. The starting point in the development of modern crystallography, as well as the materials science on the whole, is the discovery of X-ray diffraction. After World War II, due to X-ray diffraction analysis, crystallography became also closely connected with biology. When developing classical crystallography, Shubnikov laid the groundwork of a radically new research direction at the Institute of Crystallography: crystal growth, which continues to develop. Crystallography, with its interdisciplinary essence, will play a very important role in the development of convergent sciences, primarily nanobiotechnologies and nanodiagnostics.