Introduction 1 2 3
θ = 0°

Complex diffraction patterns

The applet now shows the diffraction pattern for a crystal with a cubic unit cell, where a=b=c=30 Å.

By using the rotate and clear buttons, can you find a rotation range which gives a large cluster of diffraction spots for which h = 1?

The image below shows a diffraction pattern from lysozyme. We see 'lunes' (curved clusters) of diffraction spots, because we are looking at a spherical slice through the reciprocal lattice. Can you produce an image with broadly similar features (subject to the different unit cell and rotation axis)? How much can you infer about the orientation of the lysozyme crystal?