With the advent of third generation synchrotron radiation sources several techniques have been developed or brought to maturity which allow the characterisation of electronic properties and dynamic properties of lattices using X-rays.

One of the foremost examples is inelastic X-ray scattering with, at present, a resolution of about 1 meV at 20 keV incident energy on beamlines ID16 and ID28. This technique complements the high energy resolution of inelastic neutron scattering with high resolution and universal accessibility to all regions in momentum space. It is particularly suited to the study of elementary excitations for liquids, the example presented here concerns the relaxation processes which occur within water.

Photoemission experiments with circular polarisation from the unique station ID12B allow a complete characterisation of electronic bands in terms of binding energy and spin state as exemplified by the research on Zhang-Rice singlets in high-temperature superconductors.

One of the most noteworthy and heavily discussed subjects of the last year was the observation of orbital ordering in vanadium oxide, studied at ID20. Here a simultaneous exploitation of several properties of a third generation source occurred. Scattering in resonance was combined with polarisation analysis and polar scans of the lattice planes. The experiment required a small beam and utmost stability. This single experiment has initiated a fruitful theoretical discussion centred around the interpretation of the observed effect. Furthermore, the fact that such experiments are possible has incited a large number of follow-up investigations.

The other highlights chosen for this chapter further demonstrate how a variety of techniques can be used to furnish valuable information about the energy levels and electronic transitions that exist in a diverse selection of materials such as quasicrystals, organometallic complexes, metal oxides and organic donor-acceptor complexes.