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Future progress will be defined by the development of new and innovative next-generation materials. Despite the magnitude of the endeavour, breakthroughs will depend on understanding at the smallest scale: fundamentally, the properties of a material depend on its structure. A recent study highlights the unique insights that can be provided by world-leading neutron expertise, instruments and technology at the ILL.

Recent awards and publications are testament to the sustained efforts and long-standing contributions of the ILL diffraction group to crystallography, and reinforce our ongoing commitment to advancing scientific understanding in the discipline.

Neutrons throw light on an important manufacturing process in the textile industry.

Neutron diffraction is one of the most powerful tools in the world for studying the structure of materials, and is used by scientists from chemistry, physics, biology and materials science. By firing a beam of neutrons at just a tiny sample of material – which could include anything from proteins and DNA, to lava and cement – the minute details of the atomic structure are revealed by analysing th…