#iycr2014

It's the International Year of Crystallography!

The International Year of Crystallography 2014 (IYCr2014) commemorates not only the centennial of X-ray diffraction, which allowed the detailed study of crystalline material, but also the 400th anniversary of Kepler'’'s observation in 1611 of the symmetrical form of ice crystals, which began the wider study of the role of symmetry in matter.

Do you know what crystallography is? As Time magazine states in an article about crystallography, "if you stopped someone in the street and asked them what crystallography was, chances are you would get a blank stare (source)." The International Year of Crystallography was established as a way to inform people about this topic.

I have never heard of crystallography before, so I asked a few people I know if they have. Only one person that I asked has heard of it, but he was a chemistry major in college and may have attended the Introduction to X-ray Crystallography course through the chemistry department. Since I was now interested in finding out what crystallography was, I did some research to learn more about the subject.

Crystallography is the study of the structure of atoms and molecules. It began by studying the geometry of crystals. This included measuring the angles between the crystal faces and plotting the position in 3D space using a stereonet to determine symmetry patterns in the crystal.

But things started taking off once x-rays were discovered. In addition to being able to pass through human tissue, they were also found to be diffracted by crystals. This was the beginning of the field of X-ray crystallography.

There were numerous advancements in the field, many resulting in Nobel Prizes. Some important contributors include:

Max von Laue - Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals

William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg - Nobel Prize in Physics for the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays

Dorothy Hodgkin - Nobel Prize in Chemistry for X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances (vitamin B12 and penicillin)

Rosalind Franklin - her X-ray diffraction images of DNA led to the discovery of the double helix

Now I know more about crystallography, and hopefully you do too. So spread the word and maybe others will know a little bit more about this neat subject!