X-Ray Crystallography
X-ray photographs of metals are a means of providing information which in many cases cannot be obtained by microscopic methods. The line produced by each element or phase are characteristic and their general pattern enables the crystalline structure to be identified. The scale of the pattern can be used to determine accurately the size of the unit cell and therefore the distance apart of the individual atoms. From the relative intensity of the lines it is possible to deduce the distribution throughout the unit cell, the various types of atoms in an alloy or the degree of preferred orientation in the material.
