The Effect of an Electric Field on the X-Ray Diffraction Pattern of a Liquid

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Abstract
An investigation is made of the effect produced on the x-ray liquid diffraction pattern by an electric field so designed as to give the Kerr effect for the liquid under examination. The liquid diffraction pattern is obtained by replacing the crystal of a Bragg spectrometer with a cell containing the liquid. The electric field is approximately normal to the x-ray beam. Nitrobenzene is found to show an increase in peak intensity, on applying the field, ranging from four to seven times the probable error of observation, while benzene shows no observable effect. For the type of field used nitrobenzene shows a large Kerr effect, while benzene shows only a slight effect. Theoretical considerations indicate that this effect cannot be due to molecular orientation alone, but that an increase in the regularity of the spatial distribution of molecular scattering centers must occur.