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The useful feature is the selenium atom's wavelength-dependent anomalous X-ray scattering. Close to its absorption edge the atomic scattering factor is complex:Replacing a sulfur-containing side chain by its selenium analogue introduces relatively strong, spatially localized anomalous scatterers. This is the diffraction-physics reason for the label; no biological preparation procedure is needed for the calculation.

The Se substructure can be located from intensity differences or Patterson maps. Measurements at several wavelengths change its known complex contribution while leaving most other atoms' scattering nearly unchanged. Interference between that contribution and the unknown remainder constrains the otherwise missing structure factor phases. Both wavelength-dependent dispersive differences and differences between Friedel pairs contribute to multiwavelength anomalous diffraction. Several wavelength constraints resolve phase ambiguities that remain with one intensity difference. The resulting phased Fourier synthesis yields the electron-density map.

Use fractional coordinates and the structure factor conventionFor real atomic scattering factors, $F(-\mathbf{h})=F(\mathbf{h}{)}^{\ast }$, immediately proving Friedel's law. If an inversion centre is chosen as origin, each site at ${\mathbf{r}}_j$ has an identical partner at $-{\mathbf{r}}_j$, with the same possibly complex atomic scattering factor. Each pair contributes $2f_j\cos (2\pi \mathbf{h}\cdot {\mathbf{r}}_j)$; sites fixed by inversion modulo a lattice translation also have even phase factors at reciprocal-lattice vectors. Henceeven for scalar anomalous X-ray scattering in a centrosymmetric structure. This last equality is an equality of amplitudes, not generally complex conjugacy.