X Ray Crystallography (1 Viewer)

[CrammingFTW]

Basically, I have to make a ridiculously short presentation on X ray Crystallography on Friday... however, I still do not understand the principles behind it.

From my research so far, I see that X rays are projected from the source (from a cathode to an anode, reflected into plates (of some material - irrelevant because i know up to this point) to make the X-rays travel parallel to each other.
From here, the X rays hit a crystal. This is the section i do not understand.

What makes the X rays deflect? do they hit electrons or nuclei? :S
What makes the patterns that reflect/scatter off from the crystal?

and i understand that they hit different layers of the crystal lattice. how do they get through the first layer? is it just the off chance that they do not hit an electron/nucleus?

lol, I am so lost and have spend the past 3 hours sitting researching but i still do not get it. Any understanding would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks ^^

 

[Forbidden.]

ummmm ... 0_o

in order to make X-rays, in a vacuum tube, electrons must arrive from the cathode at high speed and SMACK into a heavy metallic anode, creating X-rays at right angles from the shaped anode onto the crystal, the electrons themselves go into the anode

this perpendicular orientated X-ray is the one that then travels into the crystal then onto the photograpahic plate ...

with regards to the crystal, they measure the structure of the crystal from the ANGLE of DEFLECTION on the photographic plates from the X-rays by the illuminated patterns, because different lattice structures make different angles of deflection which makes different illumination patterns...

 

[CrammingFTW]

o.0

okay...so i get the production of the X rays, no problem there. and i get the angle of deflection part making the different patterns because of different lattice structures. All i have now is just how to describe the X ray hitting the ... structure.
I am still not sure what the X-ray hits, other than an atom.
I heard that the more electrons an atom has the larger the deflection? so would it be hitting electrons? :S

thanks for the info so far btw.

[edit1]
Muahahahaar

http://www.stolaf.edu/people/hansonr/mo/x-ray.html

it hits electrons and provides a contour/electron density picture to help. thanks