The influence of the constituents of the crystal on the form of the spectrum in the X-ray spectrometer

Abstract

The construction and use of the X-ray spectrometer have been described in previous papers. It is found that the relative intensities of the various parts of a spectrum may be greatly altered by changing the crystal which is used in the spectrometer. The present paper contains an account of experiments made to determine the origin of this effect. It is shown that it may be ascribed to well known discontinuities in the relations between the atomic weight of an absorbing screen and its power of absorbing X-rays of given quality. This cause operates through the absorbing action of the atoms of which the crystal is composed.