Polarization spectroscopy of x-ray lines represents a diagnostic tool to ascertain the presence of electron beams in high-temperature plasmas. Making use of the Livermore electron beam ion trap, which optimizes the linear x-ray line polarization by exciting highly charged ions with a monoenergetic electron beam, we have begun to develop polarization diagnostics and test theoretical models. Our measurement relies on the sensitivity of crystal spectrometers to the linear polarization of x-ray lines which depends on the value of the Bragg angle. We employed two spectrometers with differing analyzing crystals and simultaneously recorded theK-shell emission from heliumlike Fe24+and lithiumlike Fe23+ions at two different Bragg angles. A clear difference in the relative intensities of the dominant transitions is observed, which is attributed to the amount of linear polarization of the individual lines. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.