Interdisciplinary Science Reviews

On 11 November 1912, in Cambridge, England, Lawrence Bragg's discovery of Bragg's Law and his solution of the first crystal structure (ZnS) were announced. During 1913, he and his father, William Bragg, established the new science of X-ray crystallography. In 1914, their research was halted by the Great War. During 1915, Lawrence began to develop artillery sound-ranging on the Western Front, and in November 1915 father and son shared the Nobel Prize in Physics. In the same year Lawrence's younger brother and dearest friend were both mortally wounded. Through 1917, sound-ranging reached an extraordinary level of precision, and in 1918 it played a major role in the Allied victory. When war ceased six years later, on 11 November 1918, Lawrence Bragg had created a new field of science, won a Military Cross, been awarded a Nobel Prize and an OBE, and would soon be appointed to Rutherford's Chair at Manchester. He was just twenty-eight years old!

X-ray crystallography is the most common technique for the determination of three-dimensional crystalline structures at the atomic scale. Since the discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals over one hundred years ago, the technique has developed into an indispensable tool for material scientists and structural biologists worldwide. In this review, several milestones in the development of X-ray crystallography are presented, along with many of the Nobel laureates that made significant contributions to the success of the method. We conclude with a look at the current challenges in the field and speculate on the ensuing major developments that could lead to the next Nobel Prize related to X-ray crystallography.

Kathleen Yardley started her career in X-ray crystallography under the directorship of Sir William Bragg first at University College London (UCL) and then at the Royal Institution (RI). She was part of a team of young researchers who were keen to discover this new world of molecular and atomic patterns. After her marriage, now Kathleen Lonsdale, she left the RI and moved to the University of Leeds. Whilst at Leeds Lonsdale sought Bragg's support and advice, evidence of which is provided by their correspondence during this period. After returning to London, Lonsdale, now the mother of two daughters, returned to Bragg's team. During the next fourteen years (1932–1946) she established herself as one of the prominent researchers within the rapidly expanding field of X-ray crystallography and was one of the first women to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society.

Lawrence Bragg (1890–1971) was not only a world-class scientist, Nobel Prize winner, Director of the Cavendish Laboratory and later of the Royal Institution, he was also committed to many other areas of culture. Indeed he did not see the need for the sharp dichotomies that now dominate popular discourse on the social and cultural location of science. As this essay illustrates Bragg's interest in language and visualization was inspired by literature and the visual arts which, in turn, profoundly affected his approach to science. Finally, one should not forget the scientist's commitment to humanity and the sometime elusive role of personality in an individual's work.

Computational methods are now used widely and successfully in modelling and predicting the structure of matter at the atomic level. This article describes their development over the last five decades and surveys the current status of their application to both inorganic and organic solids and nano-structures. We show how the methods have acquired a powerful predictive capacity, especially when used in conjunction with the experimental diffraction techniques pioneered by the Braggs.

When the first atomic structures of salt crystals were determined by the Braggs in 1912–1913, the analytical power of X-ray crystallography was immediately evident. Within a few decades the technique was being applied to the more complex molecules of chemistry and biology and is rightly regarded as the foundation stone of structural biology, a field that emerged in the 1950s when X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the atomic architecture of DNA and protein molecules. Since then the toolbox of structural biology has been augmented by other physical techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and solution scattering of X-rays and neutrons. Together these have transformed our understanding of the molecular basis of life. Here I review the major and most recent developments in structural biology that have brought us to the threshold of a landscape of astonishing molecular complexity.

The two Braggs, William Henry Bragg and his son William Lawrence Bragg, are the only father and son team to be jointly awarded the Nobel Prize. This was awarded in 1915 based on their work during the period 1912 to 1914, in which they developed a completely new scientific discipline: X-ray crystallography. This subject has grown from strength to strength and around twenty-six Nobel Prizes have been given for work based on their early discoveries. This article is a personal account explaining how the author came to be involved in celebrating their achievements.