neutronscattering
Neutron scattering is a set of techniques that investigate the structure and dynamics of materials by observing how neutrons scatter from them. Neutrons are uncharged and have wavelengths comparable to interatomic spacings, making them well suited for studying atoms in solids and liquids. Scattering can be elastic, in which neutron energy remains essentially unchanged, providing information about static structure, or inelastic, where energy is exchanged and collective excitations such as phonons and magnons are probed.
In neutron scattering, coherent scattering reveals average correlations between different atoms and yields crystallographic and magnetic
Common techniques include neutron diffraction and powder diffraction for determining crystal and magnetic structures, small-angle neutron
Facilities use nuclear reactors or spallation sources to generate neutrons, with time-of-flight or reactor-based instruments and
Applications span materials science, chemistry, polymers, biology (often with deuteration to reduce background), and studies of