A theory of the electrical properties of liquid metals

Abstract

The simple theory of resistivity originally applied to pure liquid metals (Ziman 1961, Bradley et al. 1962) is formally extended to liquid alloys. In dilute solutions, size difference between solute and solvent ions can be allowed for, approximately, by a modification of the pseudo-potential of the solute, in a manner reminiscent of the modification of solute valency suggested by Harrison and Blatt (1957) in dealing with the resistance of solid alloys. The theory explains qualitatively a number of interesting features of the behaviour of liquid binary alloys, e.g. the failure of liquid solutions in polyvalent metals to obey the familiar rules of Nordheim and Linde. Some speculations on the anomalous behaviour of mercury amalgams are included. A bibliography of experimental results for both resistivity and density in liquid alloys is collected in Appendix II.