dəˈbīˈsherə(r)- noun
Usage: usually capitalized D&S
Etymology: after P. J. W. Debye and Paul Scherrer b 1890 Swiss physicist
: a method of forming a diffraction pattern by directing a beam of X rays onto an aggregate of small crystals (as in the powdered form of a substance) and by photographing the pattern so formed to provide a means of identifying crystalline substances