double-helix structure

Examples of double-helix structure in the following topics:

• X-Ray Spectra: Origins, Diffraction by Crystals, and Importance

  • X-ray shows its wave nature when radiated upon atomic/molecular structures and can be used to study them.
  • However, since atoms and atomic structures have a typical size on the order of 0.1 nm, x-ray shows its wave nature with them.
  • Perhaps the most famous example of x-ray diffraction is the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953.
  • This process is known as x-ray crystallography because of the information it can yield about crystal structure.
  • Analysis of the pattern yields information about the structure of the protein.

• Biology: DNA Structure and Replication

  • DNA is a large macromolecule that (in three-dimensional space) forms the shape of a double helix, as shown in .
  • The "backbone" of each helix is formed from alternating deoxyribose and phosphate subunits as illustrated in .

• Solenoids, Current Loops, and Electromagnets

  • A solenoid is a coil wound into a tightly packed helix.

• de Broglie and the Bohr Model

  • I include a summary of the hydrogen atom's electronic structure and explain how an electron can interfere with itself in an orbit just like it can in a double-slit experiment.