Book excerpt: International Tables for Crystallography are no longer available for purchase from Springer. For further information please contact Wiley Inc. (follow the link on the right hand side of this page). The purpose of Volume C is to provide the mathematical, physical and chemical information needed for experimental studies in structural crystallography. The volume covers all aspects of experimental techniques, using all three principal radiation types, from the selection and mounting of crystals and production of radiation, through data collection and analysis, to interpretation of results. As such, it is an essential source of information for all workers using crystallographic techniques in physics, chemistry, metallurgy, earth sciences and molecular biology.