h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What is a crystallographer?

Trigg,

Someone who studies crystals of course!!

Basically, we use X-rays to "look" into a crystal and see what it looks like. Would you like to know more?

Bambi

I'd like to know a bit more - it sounds more interesting than typing away at a computer all day with nothing to do but rip the guts out of one now and again. I'm an I.T. technician in a high school and with technology improving year after year I get less and less hands on stuff to do.

"Would you like to know more?"

Sort of reminds me of Starship Troopers.

I really don't need to know much more. I just like looking at pretty rocks. I don't need to know what makes them flicker in the light.

It reminds me of a time when I was in Egypt. Our Lieutenant had a geology degree and he was looking at some of the rocks and talking about him. The next thing you know, half the platoon was wandering around, looking at rocks like they knew something, and taking them over to the Lieutenant. Heavily armed infantry geologists at your service.

Beebs,

I've written a bit on what I do, let me know what you think.

Bambi

Hello Bambi.

I've just started my using and (hopefully) developing those 'fancy computer programmes' to solve crystal structures. I thought your on crystals, x-rays and diffraction was pretty good. I sent the web address to my family, who have absolutely no idea what it is that I do all day. Maybe they'll have some clue soon. But probably not.

Hope it helps - that's what I wrote it for!!!

So what exactly are you working on?

Bambi

My sister said it all made sense until the neutrons behaving like X-rays...

Our group is developing direct-space methods to solve crystal structures using powder diffraction data. Or it's supposed to be. But I'm not terribly productive yet. I know nothing.

I agree, I mean why on earth would neutrons want to behave like X-rays!?!?

I'm sure you don't know nothing - I seem to recall it's all quite hard, so I wouldn't worry about the productivity bit yet. I've been doing this nonsence for nearly 2 1/2 years now and I'm only just finding things to write about!

There's quite a few groups working on powder solution stuff, I've spoken to a couple of people doing simulated annealing and genetic algorithm work, what are trying to do and if it's not too personal a question, where abouts are you doing it?

We do stuff with a new evolutionary algorithm. It's similar to GA, but a bit simpler really. And we do this in the sunny (at least today) picturesque (ok, not even today) city of Birmingham. I know it's early days yet, but it doesn't look like I'll have much in my first year report. Our diffractometer has been down since maybe January and we don't have much collected data around. So I've resorted to preparing my poster for the BCA...

I wish I'd read this before I went to the BCA - we could have met up. So you work for M-J Tremayne! I saw her seminar on powder solution - very interesting, results look good too. I've been doing a bit of powder solution stuff, but most of it so far has been intuitive with a bit of hope thrown in - based on refinement of known single crystal structures. I'm working in Durham - small world isn't it!