/sci/ - Science & Math

>>10083083
>>10083089
Earliest work was done analyzing crystals utilizing x-ray diffraction since wavelength of x-rays are in a similar range like the atom (or molecule) distances in crystals. Von Laue and Bragg got Nobel prizes in 1914 and 1915 for this. It remains an important method today, but it's greatest limitation is that your sample has to be crystallized.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_crystallography

Most important method in Organic Chemistry today is probably NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy). It utilizes the magnetic interaction of the nuclei of certain isotopes that have a magnetic moment (1H, 13C). Certain structural elements show characteristic shifts and couplings in relation to other structural elements allowing you to piece together how the groups are connected in the molecule.

A bit more exotic are scanning probe microscopy methods. But you can produce really nice pictures with these. You can only analyze surfaces though.
Source of picture: Nature Nanotechnology 13, 371–375 (2018) (somehow 4chan is giving me spam alerts, when I try to link nature.com)