Abstract
Changes in electrical resistivity Δρ were measured for some liquid metals of low melting point, such as, In, Sn and Bi, when 1 at% of metallic elements of the same period in the periodic table with the above solvent were alloyed, respectively. A somewhat regular relation is found for the dependence of Δρ upon ΔZ, the valence difference between solvent and solute atoms, and it is a different type from the Linde’s law with a validity in the solid.
Theoretical estimation for Δρ is performed from the standpoint that the electrical resistivity of dilute liquid alloy is determined mainly by the scattering of conduction electrons from a liquid composed of atoms having the mean scattering potential and the one produced by the fluctuation from the mean potential for solvent and solute atoms. The calculation is in agreement with the experimental values of Δρ. The dependence of Δρ upon ΔZ is discussed from the pseudo-potentials of solute and solvent in dilute alloys and the shape of correlation function a(K) of solvent metals.
The resistivity change due to the fluctuation of potentials is found to be roughly proportional to (ΔZ)2.
