On the Anomalous Behaviors of the Electrical Resistivity and the Thermoelectric Power in Liquid Alloys Ag–Sn and Ag–Sb

Abstract

Anomalous behavior of the thermoelectric power of the liquid silver alloys, Ag–Sn and Ag–Sb, is discussed from the viewpoint of the pseudomolecule model in connection with the experimental results for the heat of mixing, the magnetic susceptibility and the electrical resistivity of these alloys. The heat evolution observed on the mixing of liquid silver with liquid tin or liquid antimony suggests that pseudomolecules having the compositions of Ag4Sn and Ag5Sb are formed in these liquid alloys Ag–Sn and Ag–Sb, respectively. The concentration distributions of the pseudomolecules are estimated from the heat of mixing curves of these alloys, and the numbers of localized electrons in these pseudomolecules are also estimated from the magnetic susceptibility of these liquid alloys. From the investigation of the electrical resistivity of these liquids under the pseudomolecule model, the scattering probabilities of electrons by the pseudomolecules are estimated as a function of the energy of conduction electrons for both the liquid alloys. Using these results the thermoelectric power S of the liquid Ag–Sn and Ag–Sb alloys is calculated and the results are in agreement with the observations.