Specific Heat of Lamellar Crystals

Abstract

The theoretical basis for expecting the specific heat of lamellar crystals to be proportional to T², at least over a sizeable range of temperatures, is re‐examined and criticized in a qualitative way starting from the Born‐von Kármán model of lattice vibrations. Arguments are presented to indicate that such a behavior implies special properties of the molecular forces other than those to be expected simply because of the lamellar structure. Numerous possible hypotheses are considered along with their consequences. From this, it seems doubtful that there is any simple semiphenomenological law that will fit specific heat data for all lamellar crystals in a manner comparable to the Debye law for nearly isotropic materials.