| RefNo | MS/603/1/127 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from W L [William Lawrence] Bragg, The University, Manchester, to [Joseph] Larmor |
| Creator | Bragg; Sir; William Lawrence (1890-1971); Australian physicist and crystallographer |
| Date | 10 May 1921 |
| Description | The only work with a bearing on Larmor's questions is that of Scherrer who examined the colloidal particles of gold and silver by the powder analysis method and Bragg explains the use of monochromatic x-rays in the process. He found that colloidal gold and silver exist as minute crystal. Their size can be measured by the width of diffraction haloes, an effect comparable to a line grating. Scherrrer also found that the smallest colloidal particles consist of the repetition of four or five pattern units in any direction, the same structure and spacing as large crystals of those elements. If the work is right, then small aggregates of atoms take up crystalline form where there are more than two or three layers of atoms in any direction. Distances between atoms are the same in small crystals as large ones. The forces which bind atoms together are local. Probbaly Larmor's sulphur precipitate will be found to be crystalline, but Bragg does not know if anyone has analysed it. He gives a reference for Scherrer's work. |
| Extent | 1p. |
| Format | Typescript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA8141 | Bragg; Sir; William Lawrence (1890 - 1971) | 1890 - 1971 |