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I just read a report that scientists have determined that, through evolution, seals have lost the genes for most tastes and that they rapidly swallow whole fish because they have no ability to savor the flavor. Frankly if I had to live on live fish I would rather swallow them whole so I did not have to taste them. And I am sure it is easier to swallow an intact fish rather than having to worry about choking on a lot of broken fish bones.

I like to think there is a connection between analytical instruments and our sensory abilities. Humans have been able to bypass the long timeframe of evolution to create senses that help us see and understand our world in new ways. We don't have the ability to "see" X-rays but we were able to produce instruments that allow us to interact with X-rays and produce something that we can see through our normal vision. The ability to anticipate what we were not born to experience and create a way of experiencing the unknown is a hallmark of human existence.

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Thin Film Training Textbook High-resolution X-ray Diffraction Method (Part 14) Rigaku Corporation In last month's section, we obtained the amplitude ratio between the electric fields Eoj and Egj of the waves in the incident and diffraction directions, respectively. Next, consider the rocking curve observed in the experiment. For the sake of simplicity, we first ignore the absorption in the discussion but then include absorption in the discussion to give a more detailed model. Besides the rocking curve, X-ray standing waves and extinction distances are discussed. For more >

Featured Rigaku Journal Article SmartLab 3: new multipurpose X-ray diffractometer for powder and thin-film Global Marketing Group, Rigaku Corporation SmartLab 3 is a brand new, highly versatile, multipurpose X-ray diffractometer. It can be used for everything from powder diffraction to thin film analysis to SAXS to microarea diffraction. It is equipped with an unprecedented 2-D hybrid pixel array detector, HyPix-400, which enables seamless switching between 0-D, 1-D and 2-D detection modes without changing the detector physically. For more >

WDXRF Application Note Quantitative Analysis of Aluminum Alloy on Supermini200 Rigaku Corporation Aluminum alloy, which is both light and strong, is used in many industries, such as automobile and aircraft. Since aluminum alloy has a broad range of grades whose characteristics are strongly dependent on the elemental compositions, it is very important to control the components. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis quickly and easily offers precise elemental analysis results to make control of the components in aluminum alloy possible. For more >

Customers in the Spotlight Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties Conservation Science Section Since its foundation in 1952, Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties has played an important role in archeology and conservation science research of buried cultural properties in Japan.Their studies are mainly targeted to the national heritages and important cultural properties located nearby, such as Heijo-kyo, Fujiwara-kyo, Takamatsuduka-kofun Tumulus (special historic site) and Yakushi-ji Temple (national treasure, world heritage). For more >

Material Analysis in the News News for February 2015 Each month we highlight material analysis stories that have been covered in the press. News for February >

Scientific Book Review Introduction to Nanoscience By S. M. Lindsay, Oxford University Press, New York, 2014, 472 pages, ISBN: 978-019-9554421-9. As the title suggests, this is a book covering the fundamentals of nanoscience. It is a textbook and as such, covers just about every topic I studied as an under­graduate student in chemistry: organic chemistry, physical chemistry, quantum mechanics, solid state physics, instrumentation thermodynamics, statistical mechanics and so on, albeit in an order much different than I learned in school. It was published in 2010 and while current then, is missing some of the new materials developed since. Keep in mind this is an introduction, so the basics are timeless. For more >

Recent Scientific Papers of Interest Papers for February 2015 Recent Scientific Papers of Interest is a monthly compilation of material analysis papers appearing in recently released journals and publications. See below

Carbon Nanotubes Characterization by X-ray Powder Diffraction – A Review. Das, Rasel; Hamid, Sharifah Bee Abd; Ali, Md. Eaqub; Ramakrishna, Seeram; Wu Yongzhi. Current Nanoscience. Feb2015, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p23-35. 13p. DOI: 10.2174/1573413710666140818210043.

Laboratory implementation of X-ray diffraction/scattering computed tomography. Cersoy, Sophie; Leynaud, Olivier; Álvarez-Murga, Michelle; Martinetto, Pauline; Bordet, Pierre; Boudet, Nathalie; Chalmin, Emilie; Castets, Géraldine; Hodeau, Jean Louis. Journal of Applied Crystallography (International Union of Crystallography – IUCr). Feb2015, Vol. 48 Issue 1, p159-165. 7p. DOI: 10.1107/S1600576714027204.

Structural characterization of titania by X-ray diffraction, photoacoustic, Raman spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Kadam, R.M.; Rajeswari, B.; Sengupta, Arijit; Achary, S.N.; Kshirsagar, R.J.; Natarajan, V. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular & Biomolecular Spectroscopy. Feb2015, Vol. 137, p363-370. 8p. DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2014.08.082.

Radial X-ray diffraction study of the static strength and equation of state of MoB₂ to 85 GPa. Xiong, Lun; Liu, Jing; Zhang, Xinxin; Tao, Qiang; Zhu, Pinwen. Journal of Alloys & Compounds. Feb2015, Vol. 623, p442-446. 5p. DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.11.010.

Estimation of bowing in hetero-epitaxial GaN-on-sapphire substrate at elevated temperatures by X-ray diffraction rocking curve measurement. Aida, Hideo; Kim, Seong-woo; Suzuki, Toshimasa. Journal of Crystal Growth. Feb2015, Vol. 412, p60-66. 7p. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2014.11.033.

Study of the non-isothermal microstructural evolution of deformed Cu–15 wt.%In and Cu–9 wt.%Sb alloys by means of X-ray diffraction and dilatometry. Hachouf, M.; Hamana, D. Journal of Alloys & Compounds. Feb2015, Vol. 622, p29-36. 8p. DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.09.184.

Study on the structure of aqueous potassium chloride solutions using the X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy methods. Li, Fei; Yuan, Junsheng; Li, Dongchan; Li, Shenyu; Han, Zhen. Journal of Molecular Structure. Feb2015, Vol. 1081, p38-43. 6p. DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2014.09.062.

Full-field energy-dispersive powder diffraction imaging using laboratory X-rays. Egan, Christopher K.; Jacques, Simon D. M.; Wilson, Matthew D.; Veale, Matthew C.; Seller, Paul; Withers, Philip J.; Cernik, Robert J. Journal of Applied Crystallography. Feb2015, Vol. 48 Issue 1, p269-272. 4p. DOI: 10.1107/S1600576715000801.

X-ray diffraction grazing-incidence methods applied for gradient-free residual stress profile measurements in electrodeposited Ni coatings. Kania, Bogusz; Indyka, Paulina; Tarkowski, Leszek; Beltowska-Lehman, Ewa. Journal of Applied Crystallography. Feb2015, Vol. 48 Issue 1, p71-78. 8p. DOI: 10.1107/S1600576714025722.

Strain-induced crystallization of natural rubber/zinc dimethacrylate composites studied using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and molecular simulation. Nie, Yijing. Journal of Polymer Research. Feb2015, Vol. 22 Issue 2, p1-10. 10p. DOI: 10.1007/s10965-014-0642-x.

Tracking the progression of bronze disease – A synchrotron X-ray diffraction study of nantokite hydrolysis. Grayburn, Rosie; Dowsett, Mark; Hand, Matthew; Sabbe, Pieter-Jan; Thompson, Paul; Adriaens, Annemie. Corrosion Science. Feb2015, Vol. 91, p220-223. 4p. DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2014.11.021.

In Situ X-Ray Diffraction Study of Phase Transformation of Steel in Scuffing Process. Kajita, Seiji; Yagi, Kazuyuki; Izumi, Takashi; Koyamachi, Jun; Tohyama, Mamoru; Saito, Koji; Sugimura, Joichi. Tribology Letters. Feb2015, Vol. 57 Issue 2, p1-11. 11p. DOI: 10.1007/s11249-014-0443-8.

Strain Profiling of a Ferritic-Martensitic Stainless Steel Sheet — Comparing Synchrotron with Conventional X-Ray Diffraction. Buslaps, T.; Steuwer, A.; Boström, M.; Olsson, C.-O. A. Strain. Feb2015, Vol. 51 Issue 1, p71-77. 7p. 1 Black and White Photograph, 2 Diagrams, 2 Charts, 5 Graphs. DOI: 10.1111/str.12121.

Characterization of the Solubility of Aluminum in Soil by X-Ray Diffraction. Singh, Virendra; Agrawal, H. M. Analytical Letters. 2015, Vol. 48 Issue 3, p503-512. 10p. 3 Charts, 2 Graphs. DOI: 10.1080/00032719.2014.946041.

Orientation and structural development of semicrystalline poly(lactic acid) under uniaxial drawing assessed by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Wang, Yaming; Zhang, Huanhuan; Li, Ming; Cao, Wei; Liu, Chuntai; Shen, Changyu. Polymer Testing. Feb2015, Vol. 41, p163-171. 9p. DOI: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2014.11.010.

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