Structure of liquid metals determined by scattering techniques

Abstract

Liquids structure is characterized by a short range order, which can be determined by X-ray and neutron scattering. The important function measured by these techniques is the structure factor. It is the Fourier transform of the pair correlation function, which describes the instantaneous spatial positions of the atoms. Partial pair correlation functions describe the local arrangements of the atoms constituting the alloy. They can be determined, in particular by neutron scattering. Metastable states are usually related to nucleation processes. Their study is also possible by small angle scattering (SAS). The kinetics of phase separation in binary systems can be followed in real time by SAS. Some fundamental notions of scattering techniques applied to the study of liquid metals structure and to the kinetics of phase separation during nucleation processes are presented.