Electrical and thermal resistivity of the transition elements at low temperatures

Abstract

The results of measurements on 20 transition elements are reported giving values for the thermal resistivity, W , from 2 to about 140 °K and for electrical resistivity, p , from 2 to about 300 °K. Values of the ‘ideal’ resistivities, W _i and p _i { (due to scattering of the electrons by thermal vibrations), are deduced from these and tabulated for various temperatures. Comparisons are made with values for Cu, Ag, Au and Na and with the predictions of the ‘standard’ theory, i.e. solutions of the transport equation developed by Bloch, Grüneisen, Wilson, etc. Excepting Mn, p _i follows a Bloch—Grüneisen function tolerably down to op5, although slight anomalies are shown by V, Cr, Fe, Co and Ni; at low temperatures behaviour is varied but below 10 °K in Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Pd, Pt and perhaps in W and Nb, p _i appears to vary nearly as T2. The parameter, piM 6 & (at 273 °K) has rather similar values for different members of each group, e.g. for Ti, Zr and Hf of group IV A. The ideal thermal resistivity, Wif can generally be approximated by the relation, WiIW ao = 2(Tld)2J 5(dlT), although for many elements, W _i falls more rapidly than T ² below010. Measurements on the relatively poor conductors, e.g. Ti, Zr and Hf, suggest the presence of an appreciable lattice conductivity, which affects the confidence with which values can be deduced for W _i in these elements.