Analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been used to characterize long chain waxes. Single crystal and powder XRD have been used in early studies of wax structure, such as in structural studies of fatty acids and nalkanes. For the n-alkanes, seminal predictions of crystal structures have been verified through synchrotron powder diffraction. Powder XRD patterns from a typical bulk assembly of microcrystals can provide somewhat limited information about the lamellar stacking of the chain layers and the preferred sub-cell packing of the polyethylene repeat. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has revealed defects in paraffin crystals such as spiral growth formed by screw dislocations. XRD and AFM, however, do not afford insight into the spatial arrangement of lamellar microstructure accessible using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Dorset and colleagues have used selected area electron diffraction (SAED) to extensively characterize and determine the structure of paraffin waxes at the length scale of a few micrometers. Obtaining single crystal diffraction data by SAED accordingly has a much less stringent requirement on crystal size relative to X-ray approaches. However, TEM samples must be sufficiently thin to be electron transparent. Using established procedures for molecular crystal orientation control, Dorset and colleagues prepared electron transparent paraffin single crystals in two key orientations, with chains parallel and with chains perpendicular to the electron beam. These studies have revealed molecular packing symmetry as well as signatures of interlamellar disorder in a variety of single and multi-component waxes.