Electrical Conductivity of Shock-Compressed Sulphur, Iodine, Bromine and Water

Abstract

ABSTRACTExperimental investigations of the electrical conductivities of sulphur, iodine, bromine, and water under shock compression are reviewed. The value of sulphur conductivity is approximately 105 Ω−1 m−1 at 30 GPa and increases slowly with pressure up to 110 GPa. The conductivity of iodine is 105 Ω−1 m−1 at approximately 15 GPa and decreases moderately up to 110 GPa. The conductivity of liquid bromine is 12.5 Ω−1 m−1 at 9 GPa and approximately 104 Ω−1 m−1 at 30 GPa. In electrochemical experiments galvanic cells with copper and aluminium electrodes and bromine as an electrolyte were subjected to shock loading and their electrical response was measured. We discovered that the cells produce open circuit voltages of about 0.5 V under shock pressures of 7.4 to 30 GPa. This voltage level clearly shows that the observed electrical signals are electrochemical in nature and connected with an ionic character of bromine conductivity. Analogous experiments were made with water, whose conductivity is ionic at 75 GPa with a value of 2000 Ω−1 m−1.