Sciencecalendar_todayLast updated: Apr 2026
What is X-Ray Crystallography?
/eks reɪ krɪˌstælɒɡrəfi/
A technique used to determine the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal by analysing how X-rays diffract when beamed through it — revealing the arrangement of atoms in three dimensions.
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Everyday Example
If you want to know exactly how a protein folds — its precise 3D shape — X-ray crystallography gives you an atomic-resolution photograph. It's like using X-rays to see the architecture of a molecule.
publicReal-World Application
“Rosalind Franklin's X-ray crystallography image of DNA (Photo 51, 1952) revealed its helical structure. Watson and Crick used this data — without her knowledge — to build their double helix model and win the Nobel Prize.”
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Did you know?
The technique was invented by William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg (father and son) in 1912, earning them the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics. Lawrence Bragg remains the youngest Nobel laureate in Physics at age 25.
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Key Insight
X-ray crystallography has revealed the structure of 200,000+ proteins and led to over 30 Nobel Prizes. Every drug designed to fit a protein target — most of modern pharmacology — relies on structures revealed by this technique.
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