The effect of pressure on the electrical resistance of lithium, sodium and potassium at low temperatures

Abstract

Measurements have been made of the electrical resistivity of lithium, sodium and potassium at temperatures between 2 and 300 $^\circ$K and at pressures up to 3000 atm. From our results we have calculated the ideal electrical resistivity, $\rho_i$, and its volume derivative as functions of temperature for conditions of constant density. It is shown that, as predicted by simple theory, there is a linear relation between the temperature and volume coefficients of $\rho_i$ for each metal. We conclude that the magnitude of the volume coefficient of $\rho_i$ does not, at high temperatures at least, agree with present theoretical predictions and that this coefficient is closely connected with the high-temperature value of the thermoelectric power.