THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF LIQUID-METALS

Some of the more important thermodynamic properties of liquid metals a re their vapour pressures, heat capacities and their rates of transmis sion of shock waves (sound velocities). Thus changes in the vapour pre ssure of liquid metals are related to changes in the cohesive or bindi ng energy of the liquid with temperature. No theoretical approaches ha ve yet been successful in predicting values of heat capacities, owing to the extremely complex motion of atoms in the liquid state. Experime ntal measurements at constant pressure (C(p)) are therefore essential. Measurements of the sound velocity, which is thermodynamically relate d to the isentropic compressibility kappa and to C(p)/C(v), allow such properties to be measured. A review of values of U(s), C(p) and P(v) for a wide range of pure liquid metals, together with the underlying t hermodynamic relations, are briefly reported in this paper.