How do mixtures of differently sized and shaped molecules form the plastic solids known as waxes? Firstly, the book considers the characteristic crystalline assemblies of important wax ingredients; secondly, it looks at assemblies of two separate components and finally, plausible molecular models for several types of wax are able to be constructed, based on the rules derived from the first two studies.

By considering the solid state packing of linear chain wax components, this book aims at understanding three things: firstly, which modifications of molecular components are allowed for maintaining stable solid solutions; secondly, what happens when stability conditions are traversed and fractionation begins and thirdly, the structure of fractionated arrays. The co-compatibility of molecular ingredients is considered in terms of their shapes and relative sizes, following an approach originally proposed by Kitaigorodskii. As demonstrated profusely by the crystal structures of pure component types (e. g. alkanes, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, long chain esters, cholesteryl esters) and insertion of functional groups (e. g. chain branches, unsaturation, heteroatoms), characteristic molecular packing arrays provide important geometric information for understanding the co-packing of different molecules in mixtures. Single crystal and spectroscopic data from polydisperse arrays can then be evaluated to arrive at plausible structures of solid solutions and fractionated systems. The resultant structures are not only relevant to the understanding of so-called waxes but also include certain classes of polymers. The ramifications of this work extend into any solid state array of polymethylene chains, including lipid foodstuffs.

This book presents the reader with a fresh and unconventional approach to teaching crystallographic symmetry. Whereas traditional crystallography textbooks make a heavy use of algebra and rapidly become very technical, this book adopts in the first few chapters a 'pictorial' approach based on the symmetry diagrams of the International Tables for Crystallography. Readers are led step-by-step through simple 'frieze' and 'wallpaper' patterns, with many examples from the visual arts. At the end of chapter 3 they should be able to identify and analyse all these simple symmetries and apply to them the nomenclature and symbols of the International Tables. Mathematical formalism is introduced later on in the book, and by that time the reader will have gained a solid intuitive grasp of the subject matter. This book will provide graduate students, advanced undergraduate students and practitioners in physics, chemistry, earth sciences and structural biology with a solid foundation to master the International Tables of Crystallography, and to understand the relevant literature.

Crystallography and diffraction are widely used throughout science for studying structure. The aim of this book is to show, through relevant examples and without relying on complex mathematics, that the basic ideas behind crystallography and diffraction are simple and easily comprehensible.

This is one of the first books dedicated to the emerging field of neutron protein crystallography (NPC). The text covers all of the practical aspects of NPC, from the basic background of neutron scattering and diffraction, to the technical details of neutron facilities, growth of high-quality crystals, and data analysis. The final chapter is devoted to providing many examples of using NPC to investigate a wide range of different proteins. It demonstrates how NPC can explore hydrogen bonds, protonation and deprotonation of amino acid residues, hydration structures, and hydrogen-to-deuterium exchange ratios. To avoid redundancy with other textbooks on X-ray protein crystallography (XPC), this book assumes a familiarity with the basics of XPC and strives to highlight and explain the differences between XPC and NPC. It is therefore especially useful for X-ray protein crystallographers who are eager to have a sound, scientific basis for judging if NPC is the right technique for furthering their experimental programs.

The book describes phasing techniques in modern crystallography. The main text is dedicated to their simple description, and further mathematical details are contained in the appendices. Practical aspects are described for each specific method, making it a useful tool for the daily work of practising crystallographers.

Inorganic oxysalts are chemical compounds that contain oxygen - the most abundant element in the Earth's core. This book is the first systematic survey of structures of inorganic oxysalts considered from the viewpoint of modern scientific methods of description and visualization of complex atomic arrangements.