Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 October 2013
Using a standard laboratory X-ray powder diffractometer under very stable environmental conditions, it has been found that measurements of the positions and heights of sharp diffraction maxima can be made with a precision of order 2 × 10 −4° in 2θ and 0.1% in height (for ∼ 2 × 105 counts per point at the peak). Under normal conditions, however, displacements of order 0.02° in 2θ and 3% in height are observed. These shifts have been attributed to changes in the diffraction geometry, in particular the sourcedivergence slit configuration, brought about by changes in ambient temperature and by changes in the temperature of the liquid used to cool the X-ray tube.