An Analytic Method of Interpretation of Electron Diffraction Photographs of Gases

An analytic procedure to be used in the interpretation of electron diffraction photographs for gases is developed. The experimentally determined positions of the maxima and minima are employed to solve directly for the interatomic distances through successive approximations. The method is then generalized so as to be applicable to molecules in which rotations or large oscillations about a bond are permitted. As a test, three sets of data which have already been published are recalculated yielding somewhat altered values for the molecular parameters. New diffraction photographs of propane are analyzed. It is pointed out that the number of theoretical intensity curves which must be computed to obtain the correct structure is thereby greatly reduced.