The structure factor for liquid metals I. The application of neutron diffraction techniques

Abstract

The determination of the structure factor for liquid metals at temperatures up to 1300 °C by means of neutron diffraction techniques is described. Particular attention is given to the corrections which must be applied if reliable structure factors are to be extracted from the measurements, including those for absorption, multiple scattering and inelastic effects. It is concluded that for the heavier elements the neutron method can yield reliable data which are accurate to a few per cent over most of the range of momentum transfer.