Crystallography (IMAGE) Arizona State University Caption Principle of crystallography: The electron beam (blue) passes through a magnetic slalom course, called an undulator, where the electrons send out X-ray light that adds up to short laser-like pulses. The X-rays produce a characteristic diffraction pattern when they hit a crystal of the sample. The pattern is recorded by a detector and analyzed with computers to reveal the spatial structure of the crystal's building blocks, which are the biomolecules under investigation. Credit DESY, Cyprian Lothringer Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.