The nernst-ettinghausen coefficient and the kondo effect in copper and gold

Abstract

Results are reported on the isothermal Nernst-Ettinghausen coefficient Qⁱ of nominally pure Au and Cu over the temperature range 3–273 K. Comparison of the results with those for silver, together with an examination of the resistivity and thermopower of all three materials, suggests that the behaviour of Qⁱ for the copper and gold specimen is dominated by Kondo scattering by ferromagnetic impurities, most probably iron; an analysis based on the Sondheimer–Wilson theory gives convincing confirmation of this.