Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Fiber diffraction
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Fiber diffraction is a scattering technique in which molecular structure is determined from scattering data (usually of X-rays or electrons) from filaments composed of a regular array of molecules distinguished by a single direction (the fiber axis). The resulting diffraction patterns show layer lines, each with Bessel function intensities.
Historical role
Historical role
Fiber diffraction data led to several important advances in the development of structural biology, e.g., the original models of the α-helix and the Watson-Crick model of double-stranded DNA.
References
References
- Cochran W, Crick FHC, and Vand V (1952). “The Structure of Synthetic Polypeptides. I. The Transform of Atoms on a Helix”. Acta Cryst., 5, 581-586.
External links
External links
- Fiber Diffraction — an introduction provided by Prof. K.C. Holmes, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg.