Editing X-ray scattering techniques (section)

{{Short description|Family of non-destructive analytical techniques}}
[[Image:X-ray diffraction pattern 3clpro.jpg|thumb|250px|This is an X-ray diffraction pattern formed when X-rays are focused on a crystalline material, in this case a protein. Each dot, called a reflection, forms from the coherent interference of scattered X-rays passing through the crystal.]]
'''X-ray scattering techniques''' are a family of analytical [[scientific technique|techniques]] which reveal information about the [[crystal structure]], chemical composition, and physical properties of materials and thin films. These techniques are based on observing the [[scattering|scattered]] [[Intensity (physics)|intensity]] of an [[X-ray]] beam hitting a sample as a function of incident and scattered angle, polarization, and wavelength or energy.

Note that [[X-ray diffraction]] is sometimes considered a sub-set of X-ray scattering, where the scattering is elastic and the scattering object is crystalline, so that the resulting pattern contains sharp spots analyzed by [[X-ray crystallography]] (as in the Figure). However, both [[scattering]] and [[diffraction]] are related general phenomena and the distinction has not always existed.  Thus [[Guinier]]'s classic text<ref>{{cite book|last1=Guinier|first1=A.|title=X-ray diffraction in Crystals, Imperfect Crystals and Amorphous Bodies|date=1963|publisher=W.H. Freeman & Co|location=San Francisco}}</ref> from 1963 is titled "X-ray diffraction in Crystals, Imperfect Crystals and Amorphous Bodies" so 'diffraction' was clearly not restricted to crystals at that time.