The Effect of Temperature on the Structure of Mercury

Abstract

X‐ray diffraction patterns of mercury at eight temperatures ranging from —36°C to 250°C have been obtained using Mo Kα radiation. The x‐ray beam was diffracted from an open mercury surface using the small angle of incidence of 4° 11′, thus permitting observation of a previously unreported peak at a diffraction angle of about 10°. Fourier analyses of the intensity curves gave distribution functions showing the expected shifting and broadening of the maxima with increasing temperature. A small subsidiary peak, which changes position with temperature more rapidly than the others, occurs between the first and second main concentrations of atoms.