Max von Laue and the discovery of X-ray diffraction in 1912

摘要

The discovery of X-ray diffraction by crystals was a result of experiments about the interference of X-rays passing through crystals conducted by deposited by Arnold Sommerfeld on May 4, 1912. The guiding idea was that interferences arise in consequence of the space lattice structure of the crystals, because the lattice constants are ca. 10 times greater than the conjectured wavelengths of the X-rays. Sending a beam of X-rays through a crystal, and the regular three-dimensional arrangement of crystal atoms will sort out those that are seen in the Laue spots from the mixture of wavelengths in the primary beam by interference. Further studies showed that better success might be achieved by placing the plate behind the crystal, as for a transmission grating. The diffraction spots that surrounded the central spot of the primary beam could be explained as an interference pattern due to the crystal's space lattice, each spot was caused by X-rays that corresponded to a certain lattice constant and wavelength.