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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geometrical crystallography before X-rays | 4/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometrical_crystallography_before_X-rays | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T16:17:27.087973+00:00 | kb-cron |
Until the use of X-rays there was no way to determine the actual crystal structure of even the simplest substances such as salt (NaCl). For example, in the 1880s, William Barlow proposed several crystal structures based on close-packing of spheres some of which were validated later by X-ray crystallography; however the available data were too scarce in the 1880s to accept his models as conclusive. In the period between the discovery of X-rays (1895) and X-ray diffraction (1912) Barlow and William Jackson Pope developed the principles of packing, and showed how to deduce the structures of some simple compounds. William Johnson Sollas emphasised the importance of different atomic sizes in constructing simple crystals, and correctly concluded that the sodium and chlorine atoms in salt would be of different sizes.
== Research community ==
Before the 20th century crystallography was not a well-established academic discipline. There were no academic positions specifically in crystallography. Workers in the field normally carried out their crystallographic research as an ancillary to other employment(s), or had independent means. The leading workers in the field of geometrical crystallography were employed as follows:
Professors Mathematics or science: Bergman, Bravais, Fedorov, Frankenheim, Guglielmini, Kepler, Schoenflies, Seeber, Sohncke, Mineralogy: Delafosse, Groth, Haüy, Hessel, Miller, Mohs, Naumann, Neumann, Weiss, Whewell Physicians: Cappeller, Hessel, Steno, Wollaston Clerics: Haüy, Steno Officials: Military officers: Bravais, Gadolin, Municipal officials: Hooke, Other employment: Carangeot (business manager), Romé de l'Isle (cataloguer), Sohncke (meteorological service) Independently wealthy: Barlow, Huygens In the nineteenth century there were informal schools of geometrical crystallography researchers in France (Haüy, Delafosse, Bravais), Germany (Weiss, Mohs, Frankenheim, Hessel, Seeber, Naumann, Neumann, Sohncke, Groth, Schoenflies) and England (Wollaston, Whewell, Miller, Barlow). Until the founding of Zeitschrift für Krystallographie und Mineralogie by Paul Groth in 1877 there was no lead journal for the publication of crystallographic papers. The majority of crystallographic research was published in the journals of national scientific societies, or in mineralogical journals. The inauguration of Groth's journal marked the emergence of crystallography as a mature science independent of geology.
== See also == History of crystallography before X-rays Chemical crystallography before X-rays Physical crystallography before X-rays Timeline of crystallography
== Citations ==
== Works cited ==