RMC: progress, problems and prospects

Materials that are disordered are far more common that those that have well-ordered crystalline structures, yet our understanding of them still remains at a very basic level. Since many technologically important materials are disordered it is vital that we improve our detailed knowledge of their atomic structures and how those structures are related to other physical properties. Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) is a general method for creating structural models of disordered systems based on experimental data, predominantly from diffraction experiments. The development of RMC is described in the context of the scientific problems that have driven it. Some of the present problems are outlined and current and possible future developments are discussed.