Sound speed and thermal property measurements of inert materials: Laser spectroscopy and the diamond-anvil cell

Abstract

An indispensable companion to dynamical physics experimentation, static high-pressure diamond-anvil cell (DAC) research continues to evolve, with laser diagnostics, as an accurate and versatile experimental technique. Together, static and dynamic high-pressure and temperature physics and geophysical studies of deep planetary properties have bootstrapped each other in a process that has produced even higher pressures; consistently improved calibrations of temperature and pressures under static and dynamic conditions; and unprecedented data and understanding of materials, their elasticity, equations of state (EOS), and transport properties under extreme conditions. A collection of recent pressure and/or temperature dependent acoustic and thermal measurements and deduced mechanical properties and EOS data will be summarized for a wide range of materials including H2, H2O, H2S, D2S, CO2, CH4, N2O, CH3OH, SiO2, synthetic lubricants, PMMA, single crystal silicates and ceramic superconductors. Room P & T sound speed measurements will be presented for the first time on single crystals of β-HMX. New high-pressure and temperature diamond cell designs and pressure calibrant materials will be reviewed.