The Wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy is a method used to determine the energy spectrum of a X-ray radiation. It is mainly used in chemical analysis, in a X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, or in an electron microprobe (Castaing probe). Energy is a fundamental quantity that every physical system possesses; it allows us to predict how much work the system could be made to do, or how much heat it can exchange. ... The noun spectrum (plural: spectra) has a variety of meanings. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... In X-ray fluorescence (XRF) a material is exposed to X-rays with a relatively high energy. ... For Acoustic uses in spectrographs of sound waves, see below. ...

The X-rays emitted by the analysed object are collimated by parallel copper blades (called collimator or Soller slits), and irradiate a known single crystal. The single crystal diffracts the photons (Bragg's law) and are collected by a detector, usually a scintillation counter or a proportional counter. Quartz crystal A crystal is a solid in which the constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly ordered, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. ... Diffraction is the apparent bending and spreading of waves when they meet an obstruction. ... Braggs law is the result of experiments into the diffraction of x-rays off crystal surfaces at certain angles, derived by the English physicists Sir W.H. Bragg and his son Sir W.L. Bragg in 1913. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz...

The single crystal and the detector are mounted on a goniometer, the device is similar to a traditional X-ray diffractometer, except it is usually under vacuum, to reduce the absorption of soft radiation (low-energy photons) by the air and thus increase the sensitivity for the detection and quantitation of light elements (between boron and oxygen). A goniometer is an instrument that either measures angles or allows an object to be rotated to a precise angular position. ... X-ray crystallography is a technique in crystallography in which the pattern produced by the diffraction of x-rays through the closely spaced lattice of atoms in a crystal is recorded and then analyzed to reveal the nature of that lattice. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Boron, B, 5 Series Metalloids Group, Period, Block 13 (IIIA), 2, p Density, Hardness 2460 kg/m3, 9. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16 (VIA), 2, p Density, Hardness 1. ...

See also

• Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy