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Interference pattern
observed by von Laue and collaborators using a
photographic plate. The large central spot is
due to the unscattered X-ray beam. The dark
spots correspond to directions where X-rays
scattered from different crystal (ZnS) layers
interfere constructively.
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Max von Laue had the brilliant
idea that if the X-rays are electromagnetic waves
with a wavelength shorter than or of the same order
as the separations between the ordered atoms in a
crystal, then the scattering of X-rays against atoms
could reveal some of the unknown properties of the
X-rays. This is due to the interference effects that
could be observed when an X-ray beam hits layers of
atoms in a crystal. This effect is very similar to
the interference of a ray of light hitting a gitter
of densely packed scratches.
The experiment performed in
1912 with Röntgen's equipment was an immediate
success and a direct proof that the X-rays are
electromagnetic radiation. The wavelength observed
was about 1000 times shorter than the wavelength of
light. von Laue was given the 1914 Nobel Prize for
his discovery of diffraction of X-rays.
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The Nobel Prize
in Physics 1914 - Max von Laue »
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