Seeing Things in a Different Light: How X-ray crystallography revealed the structure of everything

X-Ray Crystallography might seem like an obscure, even unheard of field of research; however structural analysis has played a part in almost every major scientific field since its discovery 100 years ago by William Henry, and William Lawrence Bragg.
In this Friday Evening Discourse at the Royal Institution, Professor Stephen Curry charts the discovery and development of this extraordinary technique, starting with a simple explanation of diffraction, moving through the integral work of the Braggs, and ending with the cutting edge uses that X-Ray Crystallography has found in the modern world.
This film is part of the Crystallography Collection: a series of short films produced by the Ri Channel, with the support of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of X-Ray Crystallography by the Braggs
Read Stephen Curry's blog post about this event: rigb.org/blog/2013/november/st...
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[@robinwinsor4392]

Outstanding lecture. Well done Sir! I’m a retired physicist, having spent much of my career mucking about in an X-ray lab doing radiology research. How I wish that I had access to lectures of this quality in my undergraduate days! Hats off too to the Royal Institution for making these wonderful lectures available. I’m very grateful for this continued intellectual stimulation now that I’m away from campus.

[@TheRoyalInstitution]

Thank you so much Robin - we're so glad you enjoy our videos!

[@muratdogusan]

i almost stand up in my room to applaud. what a great lecture

[@dattagiram6938]

SAME HERE

[@js2010ish]

🙌🏼

[@waltertanner7982]

Which didn‘t mention one of the greatest cristallographers of the 40s/50s, Rosalind Franklin!

[@danielsouzabezerra3979]

For me, it was the best explanation of X-ray crystallography I have ever watched. the way the lecture was build, since the beginning of the X-ray until the modern ways to do it. Thank you very much. congratulations.

[@jf5610]

My field is in materials chemistry, I use X-ray crystallography extensively to identify unknown materials. It truly is a genius technique. Big up Professor Curry for an awesome lecture :)

[@michaelelbert5798]

I love this stuff especially because it is about light, my favorite subject. I saved this lecture to nearly all my playlists because it applies to all of them .

[@lethokuhlemntungwa3715]

I have a presentation tomorrow and this is my topic that they chose for me, you have no idea how useful this was.. Great lecture!! Thank you

[@TheBoyWithTheBrushes]

This is so inspiring. That is possibly the most interesting talk I have ever seen. It is also amazing to see the polymerase enzyme that was published only a fortnight ago. I hope one day I could be in a place where this astounding level of research and advancement is occurring. Thanks RI.

[@0.618-0]

Love this presentation, you can also see these patterns in nature everywhere, from flowering petals to pineapple skin to a butterfly's wing.

[@s7a2g65]

Hands down one of the best presentations given on RI.

[@GadhaRamanjini]

Well that was an amazing introduction to crystallography... thank you sir. Hats off

[@Jules-vf1zq]

Really amazing and profound lecture. Professor Curry does a fantastic job going through this difficult topic carefully

[@justin.booth.]

That is one of the best lectures I’ve seen in my whole life, absolutely astounding work from everyone involved!

[@sschw006]

Very classic style lecture, well done, graphics were, resolution was very good. I like how the lecturer brought in the history and tied it together with present day thought. Very well delivered, nice pace. Camera though should be on at all times what the person / lecturer is pointing to or referring to, the camera man/production staff seem to forget the audience (the viewing audience) is not physical present so we can't see both the screen and the professor at the same time, but otherwise, thanks for a very professional presentation. Friends from across the lake (US) thanks again.sms

[@amitavabanerjea1]

That seems to be a “feature” of most videos of lectures.

[@ZeedijkMike]

What an interesting and enjoyable lecture. No reason to be nervous at all. I was caught from the first moment.

[@SJCmakeup]

Love Prof Curry! He taught me in my undergrad and inspired me.

[@scurryww]

So nice to hear - thank you!

[@shohamsen8986]

"We know now, thanks to Quantum Mechanics, that Ladies can be fashionable and intelligent at the same time, as can men." That was really funny, hats off.

[@Mike165987]

Great insight on the history and development of crystallography!

[@Gribbo9999]

That was such a good lecture so informative and entertainingly delivered. Thank you.

[@Sheaiskl]

Being lectured this year by Prof Curry was worth the £9k alone. Thoughtful and lucid.

[@scurryww]

Sheaiskl I'll pass that information on to the Provost… ;-)

[@JohnVKaravitis]

Superb. Glad to see that this is still on KZbin AFTER ALMOST NINE YEARS (Oct. 2013).

[@gilga03gig61]

An inspiring introduction to the field! Thanks for sharing this resource.

[@thebrite]

A very applaudable lecture. I enjoyed every single moment of it.

[@rongplanet]

It was a privilege to view this brilliant lecture. Thank you.

[@pepe6666]

man, that was mind blowing. reversing the fourier analysis must be some really intense work.

[@siimkinnas]

I wish they explained the technique this elegantly when I was studying it! Excellent lecture. Thank you!

[@peilingsun3270]

Thanks for the excellent presentation! Great job!

[@theswagonborn6390]

i learned so much :) this is very exciting. thank you!

[@amitavabanerjea1]

Wonderful lecture with fascinating historical details. But why no mention of Linus Pauling, Rosalind Franklin, and other prominent crystallographers?

[@DaytakTV]

Loved this! Thank you.

[@thiagotrevisandesouza6895]

Amazing explanation about a so important tecnic and at the same time ignored for the vast majoriry of the people. Change the way I see the world.

[@GovindaGhimireus]

Great Lecture, totally inspiring!!!

[@StreuB1]

Stunning, absolutely stunning performance.

[@JGunlimited]

This actually makes sense! Amazing explanation and demonstrations!

[@brendawilliams8062]

It makes sense to make some good work for the situation.

[@jessstuart7495]

Outstanding Lecture!

[@kppsix]

Wonderful Lecture about Crystallography...

[@timefororbit]

Excellent presentation, thank you.

[@zack_120]

Acquiring detailed 3D structures of huge complex proteins seemed to be mission impossible. Having conqued it at this level is truly a marvel of modern biological advancements! 👍👍👍

[@jyotidubey4890]

What a wonderful lecture! The besttt

[@letongyuan39]

Absolutely brilliant !!!

[@frantzryufanon]

Wonderful lecture!

[@Enemyofreality84]

Absolutely brilliant.

[@kenkiarie]

Thank you for this.

[@gizachewdiga]

The discussion on X-ray crystallography is amazingly attractive. The discussion enables me in identifying the source of X-rays (electric & magnetic fields), x-ray diffractions, some of the peculiar properties of x-rays, and their applications. I am of course familiar with discussions on X-ray diffraction in Solid state Physics, particularly Bragg's law and Laue Equations. This extended discussion is quite useful and can be further extended to Molecular Biophysics for the analysis of the structure of polymers, Proteins, DNA, and other molecules. Hence, the idea can be a basis for Molecular dynamics simulations in addition to neutron diffraction. Thanks.

[@gaengu]

Great presentation!!! Fortunately it also has subtitles in English.

[@apolokaggwa7619]

Excellent. What a presentation! I had expected it to be outstanding like most things British and I was not disappointed. Well done Dr. Curry.

[@AnkitVerma.1231]

Wonderful lecture Sir.

[@mgmarinmgmarin3289]

Great lecture!

[@1atlasdotcom]

very interesting lecture. thank you

[@franklipsky3396]

the audience unless it has some college science education cannot fully appreciate Professor Curry's video that faithfully follows Einsteins advice :KEEP EVERYTHING AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE BUT NO SIMPLER!

[@radpreacher]

A very well spoken presentation indeed. Prof Curry I wish you had taught my physics class when I went to school to be an xray technologist, so many years ago. With all due respect to my teacher, at the time, I did leave there was a complete understanding of the creation of xrays, but feel your presentation would have made it a much easier task for sure. The history aspect used to present this material made it that much more interesting to me. I was aware of your mispronunciation of Roentgen's name but decided to give you a pass on that. :) I hope you will do the same for any misspellings and or poor grammar in this post.

[@Sloboda147]

Very good, but I have to watch it all over again :)

[@tarassu]

It made me almost sad that I went another way (Mechanical Engineering). This is also very cool :-) I hope to see fantastic results from X-ray Crystallography during next 10 years.

[@pedrojunior982]

Goosebumps dude.

[@jitendramisra722]

Great Lecture, salute u sir

[@0.618-0]

In 2022 this RI gem resonates like the bell in the London Tower at noon.

[@ylsxhyy]

what a great lecture !!!!!!!!!

[@wilfwoelfel7208]

So far this is the very best presentation I ever watched from all the science video series. Thanks

[@dannileigh6426]

Fascinating!

[@CGMaat]

Wow , you blew me all nested , lovely.

[@brendawarecki6684]

Masterpiece!

[@seanoreilly1832]

I can't imagine having one of those mikes that close to my mouth for an hour

[@azazkhan7475]

This is the best lecture I ever had in my life.

[@yecto1332]

That intro was dope

[@JHIslander]

Excellent presentation! Too short for my taste ;)

[@rekhavenkateswarlu3410]

excellent lecture

[@changseoul9588]

A must-see video for the scientsts.

[@js2010ish]

Superb!

[@14SWAYAM]

astounding!!!!

[@mariechantaleduron8543]

Awesome !!!

[@dr.nadiaa.abdulrahman6604]

amaizing

[@hwang7371]

he's my lecturer like right now XD

[@scurryww]

Ha ha - good luck with that!

[@TanmayvMukim]

can we find out the diffraction pattern of the molten metal?

[@ErikS-]

The man is as good an entertainer as he is a scientist.

[@brendawilliams8062]

Thankyou

[@sam0kc]

The French salutes you, Mr Curry :)

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Photo at 18:51 is pyrite, from Spain, not sphalerite, or “zinc blende”, lol.

[@OnjiKyoukou]

Awesome.

[@mrblack9791]

you gotta put the right amount of water then the culery spoons and forks gotta sit just so then bounce the radio off the spoon or whatever and listen to the water right

[@lastpokemon]

Finally figured out how the airport xray machines work.

[@ashoknaganur8551]

Knew the importance of x-ray crystal lagraphy

[@gowthamkudupudi1012]

RI, let us know where the laser is being pointed at while presenting. I can help to build one for these great men.

[@TheRoyalInstitution]

We're working on it! This video is from 2013, our newer ones have highlights to show where the speaker is pointing. We're still not 100% happy with out solution but we'll get there.

[@KarunanKannampoyilil]

GR8

[@themistoklespappalas3834]

Will you please take the time to comment on this, to an electron devotee. If in an experimental setup in 'our world', not in the world and dimensions of the atom off course, particles were spread somehow in 3D space, hit with radiation and produced AN IDENTICAL (LAUE) DIFFRACTION PATTERN, AS THE ONE THAT IS CREATED BY A NaCl, for example, CRYSTAL, what would the relationship be, between the known position of these particles and the position (instantaneous ?) of the electrons in the atoms of NaCl that underwent through a regular crystallographic process, if any.?

[@eskileriksson4457]

That Watson and Crick didn't share their Nobel Price with Florence Bell is a historical shame. Without her showing them the diffraction pattern, they would never have been able to beat Ulf Lagerkvist in Sweden to the publishing of the structure (little known fact, he was only three months away from print).

[@scurryww]

+Eskil Eriksson I think you mean Franklin, rather than Bell, who worked with Astbury in Leeds and recorded some of the first X-ray diffraction patterns of DNA fibres. Intriguingly, Astbury;s later co-worker, Elwyn Beighton took a photograph that was as good as Franklin & Gosling's famous 'photograph 51' but none of the principals involved in working out the structure ever saw it. See www.leeds.ac.uk/heritage/Astbury/Beighton_photo/index.html. By the way, is there anything written about Lagerkvist's work on the DNA structure - that was news to me).

[@eskileriksson4457]

+Stephen Curry First; thank you for a fantastic lecture, and for responding with those links. I do stand corrected. The race to find the structure sure was interesting. I got he story from my father, who studied at Lagerkvist's department in the University of Gothenburg. Ulf Lagerkvist was a brilliant scientist, but the gossip was that he never fully recovered from the near miss. And it didn't exactly help that his father, Pär Lagerkvist, had gotten a Nobel Prize in literature in 51*. So, sadly, I have nothing to offer in the form of written proof. But I'll go ahead and read Lagerkvist's book, DNA Pioneers and their Legacy. Probably to find more holes in this story and my original comment :)

[@scurryww]

+Eskil Ericsson Thanks for that. If you find out anything more about Lagerkvist's DNA work, I'd be interested.

[@jclaer]

Rosalind Franklin

[@RFC-3514]

The "g" in Röntgen is pronounced like the "g" in "gun" (not like a "j").

[@janpahl6015]

what happened with Schrödinger?

[@schmetterling4477]

Not much. He petered out like most theorists. He still wrote papers but none of them had the impact of his five paper series in which he came up with the Schroedinger equation, as far as I can tell.

[@mackymintle7806]

“Beating like a sledgehammer”? Running like a drum!? Metaphoring like a kite in a shoebox?

[@neelumahendra4695]

For the people ,who hang around with atoms n molecules , Sledgehammer is a huge thing. 😊

[@mrblack9791]

crowded room lots of stories

[@toni4729]

It tends to make me wonder what happened to flesh and blood. We've left it behind a long time ago.

[@NOMAD-qp3dd]

Huh?

[@RodrigoHerrera111]

Not even a mention of ROSALIND FRANKLIN? That's the British for you.

[@lochpickard9838]

Unfortunately, Professor Curry has incorrectly labelled Bragg's Potassium Bromide solution as Sodium Chloride....

[@EdyIggs9790]

Kinda lost when he spoke about each spot is a reflection plane and so on. What happened to diffraction? He disappeared it. Also , how he jumped from inorganic crystals to atomic positions in molecules. Not so perfect professor.

[@leif1075]

Why was he nervous for just a general public lecture?

[@MarkTillotson]

It's the venue, not the audience, I think. That stage is a part of scientific history.

[@leif1075]

@@MarkTillotson Oh..well just say who cares then..no one has toncare avout human standards of prestige or cultural importance anywah..

[@SeanMauer]

horses swam in the ocean until they turned into whales...

[@jamezbrian4135]

Ladies?, did a biologist approve?

[@dermotmccorkell663]

I hear arbitrary far to often hear.

[@teresabridges986]

The two robert understandably drip because reaction erroneously ruin a a extra-large extra-small exuberant trip. hungry, rustic surfboard

[@gobstoppa1633]

couldnt get past the rambling monotone beggining, i got out.