<p>This thesis is comprised of three original works presented in Chapters 4,5, and 6. The three projects are comprised of three different problems in condensed matter physics, the commonality between the topics is the technique used to study the materials, diffraction. Two of which are in the form of journal articles that have been peer-reviewed and published in Physical Review B, while the third is that of an unpublished work. The unpublished work is presented first and uses neutron scattering techniques, while two published papers were performed using x-ray diffraction.</p> <p>The neutron scattering experiments were performed by myself with the assistance of William J .L. Buyers and B.D. Gaulin. These experiments were performed at Chalk River Laboratories in northern Ontario. The x-ray scattering experiments were carried out on the rotating anode x-ray laboratory at McMaster University and the Advanced Photon Source in Argonne II. All data analysis was performed by myself under the guidance of B.D. Gaulin.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)