Joseph Piriano

PHYS 506
2/8/2022

Diffractions of X-Rays at a monocrystal

Abstract

The purpose of this lab is to determine the wavelength characteristic K-Alpha and K-Beta
radiation of molybdenum. Through this process we also will verify Bragg’s law of reflection as
well as validate the wave nature of x-rays. This is done by examining the diffraction of x-rays at
an NaCl monocrystal using a goniometer built into the x-ray apparatus we were able to measure
and observe the K-alpha and K-Beta maxima up to the third diffraction order, giving us the wave
characteristics at the glancing angle.
To solve for the wavelength at each maxima Braggs law will need to be tweaked slightly
for each different diffraction order; λ = 2dsin θ for n = 1, λ = 2/2dsin θ for n = 2, and λ = 2/3dsin
θ for n = 3. Unfortunately, not every measurement can be perfect and to actually finalize the
equations stated above we first needed to add the error margin. The main source of error in this
experiment comes from the measuring of the angle within the X-ray apparatus. The motor
controlling the angle of the crystal within the machine has an uncertainty of 0.03 degrees per
degree. Accounting for this uncertainty our base Braggs law equation changes into λ = 2dsin θ ±
2d (0.03 θ) cos(θ) for n=1. After running three separate tests on the NaCl crystal (represented in
charts 1-3) the weighted average of lambda was able to be calculated for both the K-Alpha and
the K-Beta peaks, resulting in 68.951 pm for K-Alpha and 61.161 pm for K-Beta.
For the next two rounds of tests, we changed the voltage the X-ray apparatus from using
35 kilovolts to only 27 kilovolts in order to see if the patterns of the dispersion from the x-ray
stayed the same. Through this round of testing, we noticed the peaks from the K-Alpha and K-
Beta maxima were not as distinct from the 35 kilovolt tests but were very close to the same angle
of incident. (Represented in graphs 3 and 4) Because of the similarities in diffraction, we end up
with very similar weighted average wavelengths of 69.4 pm for K-Alpha radiation and 61.5 pm
for K-Beta radiation.
The findings and experiments presented below not only verify Braggs law but also
confirms the wave characteristics of x-rays.
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
2/8/2022

Introduction

In 1913 Lawrence Bragg and his father William Henry Bragg discovered that crystalline
solids produced replicable patterns of x-rays. During research Lawrence Bragg was able to
discover a simplified way of explaining diffraction using x-rays to calculate the distance
between atoms by exposing a NaCl crystal to the diffraction of the x-ray in such a way that the
atoms of the crystal acts as a scattering point where spherical wavelets form. As shown in the
figure below, the wavefronts reflected from these points remains unchanged from the original
incident, this angle of reflection is known as out angle of incident throughout the experiment.

This new way of thinking opened brand new opportunities in numerous different fields. Now
more than ever it was easier to locate atoms and their chemical bonds inside a crystal and since
there is a vast amount of materials cab form crystals x-ray crystallography has become a
fundamental steppingstone in a number of scientific fields.
For this experiment in particular we will be using Braggs to find the wavelength of the x-
ray by using an NaCl crystal while simultaneously confirming the nature of these waves through
the scattering points on crystalline structure. These points are caused by the formation of the
atoms in the crystal which can be described as an array or lattice planes. This is the base for our
equations to start. Since we’re looking at two adjacent atoms, spaced d distance apart, we can use
the relationship between the incidental x-rays and the scattered rays to assume that the glancing
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
2/8/2022
angle of the two waves is equivalent. This gives us the first part of Braggs law of reflection Δ 1 =
Δ 2 = d ⋅ sin θ. From this base we can build the rest of Braggs law by relating it to the
wavelength and order of diffraction, giving us n λ = 2dsin θ.

Experiment

The main piece of equipment used in this lab is an X-ray diffractometer which is comprised of
three main parts: The x-ray tube, the target (NaCl crystal) and the Geiger-Muller counting tube.
The x-ray tube (picture below) creates the initial x-ray by releasing electrons from a filament to
hit a molybdenum target. About one percent of this energy is then converted to photons while the
rest is turns to heat. This process happens in an enclosed vacuumed tube to keep air molecules
from disrupting the process.

Once leaving the tube the x-rays are reflected off the target NaCl crystal, causing constructive
interference resulting in the scattered radiation just as Bragg’s law predicted. This will allow us
to directly measure the angular spectrum which can then be converted into the wavelength
spectrum. Because of this it is important to have the Geiger-Muller counting tube positioned in a
fashion to best receive the scattered radiation coming off of the NaCl crystal, allowing us to
accurately convert the findings into wavelength. The set up should look something like the one
pictured below.
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
2/8/2022

The X-ray diffractometer then records all this data threw a computer program and plots the
results based on the glancing angle and how much of the scattered waves are being reflected
back.
To begin the experiment the first step is to start the X-ray Apparatus application on the
computer and make the equipment is registering as plugged in and working. Make sure to delete
any old data being stored on the application. Once everything is turned on and connected, take
the NaCl crystal sample out of the locked drawer located underneath the machine. Slide the glass
door on the right back in order to place the NaCl sample on the target shelf and make sure it is
secured and not going to slide around. Otherwise, the sample might move or fall off when the
apparatus is zeroed from previous use. The next step in the experiment is fine tuning the machine
so it has the optimal setting to be able to observe our K-Alpha and K-Beta maxima. These
settings include setting the high voltage of the apparatus to U = 35 KV, changing the emission
current to I = 1.00 mA, updating the measuring time per angle to have a step of Δt = 10 seconds
and the angular step with of Δβ = 0.1 degree. After this the machine needs to be set into
COUPLED mode in order set the lower and upper limits for the test angle. The lower limit was
set at 2 degrees while the upper limit was always set at 25 degrees. After all of this was set up the
experiment was finally ready to start with just a push of the scan button. The scan takes about 40
minutes to completely go through all the different angles we had set up for previously. Once the
program is done running there should be a beautiful graph with clearly defined K-Alpha and K-
Beta maxima for three different orders.
In total this experiment was preformed four separate times. Three trials were one with the
exact condition depicted above. The last trial was run with setting a lower voltage to better
understand how the initial energy impacted the overall experiment. Since we still wanted to
make sure we had three separate orders of maxima we only reduced the starting voltage to 27
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
2/8/2022
KV. This was we will be able to confirm that the characteristics of the wavefront won’t change a
whole lot with the decrease in initial energy for the experiment.

Data

Luckily all of the measurements made in this lab were completely void of human error
due to the X-ray apparatus and application doing the majority of all the number crunching.
However, with that being said, the monitor controlling the target angle of the crystal inside the
apparatus does have an error margin that changes per degrees measured. Below are the recorded
results of the first three trials at the recommended voltage, along with included error.
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
2/8/2022
The next trial was run with a high voltage of 27 KV and correspond with graph 4.

27 kV K-alpha calculation
k-alpha 1 k-alpha 2 2d (m) lambda (n=1) d lambda (n=1) weight (w) w*x
7.0 14.4 5.64E-10 6.87E-11 2.05E-12 2.37529E+23 1.63E+13

k-beta 1 k-beta 2 lambda (n=2) d lambda (n=2)

6.2 12.7 7.01E-11 2.06E-12 2.35763E+23 1.65E+13

Lambda average Weighted average Uncertainty

6.94E-11 6.94E-11 1.45E-12

K-beta calculation
lambda (n=1) d lambda (n=1) weight (w) w*x
6.09E-11 1.82E-12 3.01804E+23 1.84E+13

lambda (n=2) d lambda (n=2)

6.20E-11 1.83E-12 2.988E+23 1.85E+13

Lambda average Weighted average Uncertainty

6.15E-11 6.15E-11 1.29E-12

Graphs

1
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
2/8/2022
2

3
 Joseph Piriano
PHYS 506
2/8/2022
4

Conclusion
In this lab we used x-ray diffraction from a monocrytaline NaCl sample to prove Bragg’s
law and verfy the charcteristice of the wavefront by experimentally calculating wavelength
throught the use of an X-ray aperatus. These finding were in extremely close agreement to prove
the accuracy of brags law. Even when the voltage was decreased, the K-Alpha and K-Beta
maxima were still very clear at the relevent angles which also proves the assumed nature of the
x-rays was correct.