In 1895, Wilhelm Rontgen discovered x- rays. The nature of x- rays, whether they were particles or electromagnetic radiation, was a topic of debate until 1912. If the wave idea was correct, researchers knew that the wavelength of this light would need to be on the order of 1 Angstrom (A) (10^-8 cm). Diffraction and measurement of such small wavelengths would require a gradient with spacing on the same order of magnitude as the light.

In 1912, Max von Laue, at the University of Munich in Germany, postulated that atoms in a crystal lattice had a regular, periodic structure with interatomic distances on the order of 1 A. Without having any evidence to support his claim on the periodic arrangements of atoms in a lattice, he further postulated that the crystalline structure can be used to diffract x-rays, much like a gradient in an infrared spectrometer can diffract infrared light. His postulate was based on the following assumptions: the atomic lattice of a crystal is periodic, x- rays are electromagnetic radiation, and the interatomic distance of a crystal are on the same order of magnitude as x- ray light. Laue's predictions were confirmed when two researchers: Friedrich and Knipping, successfully photographed the diffraction pattern associated with the x-ray radiation of crystalline CuSO₄⋅5H₂O  . The science of x-ray crystallography was born.