An Introduction to X-Ray Crystallography

Abstract

The first edition of Woolfson's An Introduction to X-ray Crystallography was published in 1970. It was a popular textbook for the senior undergraduate or graduate student beginning a serious study of x-ray crystallography. It was exactly what it claimed to be, a sound and uncompromising introduction for those intending to become professional crystallographers and those needing to use x-ray crystallography as a tool in their research. It covered the major aspects of the subject - the geometry of the crystalline state, the scattering of x-rays and their diffraction from a crystal, the factors affecting x-ray intensities and the determination and refinement of crystal structures. Fourier series and the Fourier transform were discussed clearly and comprehensively. The first edition went out of print in 1983 and the publication of the second edition is particularly welcome since the paperback version makes it relatively affordable. The present volume retains much of the material of its predecessor, including well thought out problems at the end of each chapter, together with their solutions. Brief new sections have been added on the solution of crystal structures by powder methods, synchrotron radiation sources and image plates. However, the discussion of experimental methods is brief and somewhat out of date, and the student will have to supplement the information from monographs. The bibliography is brief and contains mainly older texts which may no longer be available. The main value of the book is its clear treatment of the fundamentals of the subject. Surprisingly, the term `direct methods' is not in the index, although there is a good discussion of sign and phase relationships. An appendix contains the well-commented listings of the programs described and illustrated in the text. These files can be downloaded free of charge. This is a book which one will want to own rather than one for casual dipping into. As a comparison with the first edition shows, most of its content has dated much less than texts placing greater emphasis on experimental methods.