100 years of X-ray diffraction: from Röntgen’s discovery to top-of-the-art synchrotron source applications

The paper invites the reader to recall the 100 years long history of X-rays diffraction discovery, advancement and achievements with great impact on our daily life. Let us pay a tribute to the founders of X-ray diffraction and emphasize the importance of their work for our modern understanding of matter. Special honor has to be given to Max von Laue, who discovered in 1912 that X-rays are electromagnetic in nature, with wavelength short enough, to cause diffraction when passing through a periodic crystal medium. Shortly afterwards, the importance of his work was recognized and he received Nobel Prize two years later. Other distinguished researchers are Sir William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg, who were awarded a Nobel Prize in 1915 “for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays”. Bulgarian history of X-ray diffraction analysis started around 1939, when Ivan Stranski and Rostislaw Kaishev performed the first experiments. One of the very first publications by Bulgarian authors on this topic belongs to Strashimir Dimitrov in collaboration with Kaishev. At present, the X-ray diffraction is irreplaceable, unique method for structural investigation of inorganic and organic materials, biomolecules, including human DNA, nanocomposites and many others, especially after the development of more than 40 X-ray synchrotron sources worldwide.