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Abstract
The electrical properties of liquid mercury are reviewed. It is concluded (a) That mercury at normal densities is a metal which can be described by the Ziman weak-scattering theory and that the resistivity of amalgams is well described by the work of Evans and his collaborators (1969, 1970).
(b) There is nonetheless, even at normal densities, considerable evidence for a ‘pseudogap’ (g = N(EF)/N(E F)free<1), which fills up on increasing the temperature or on alloying. This has little or no effect on the conductivity because of the Edwards cancellation theorem. g does not affect the Hall coefficient when the mean free path L is greater than a, the interatomic distance.
(c) At densities below about 10 g/cm3, but before the material becomes a semiconductor, the mean free path is of order a and the conductivity is proportional to g 2 and the Hall coefficient is given by the Friedman formula C/necg.
(d) Special consideration is given to the results on the thermopower of amalgams at 1000°C due to Crisp, Cusack and Kendall (1970).
