Abstract
Recent studies of soft X-ray emission spectra, in particular the spectra from binary alloys, have shown that while the gross features of the band structure may appear in the spectra the influence of the core states is very strong and dominates the band shape. To explore this further the K spectrum of lithium metal has been recorded from both the normal b.c.c. phase and the close-packed phase to which it transforms spontaneously on cooling to liquid helium temperatures. The spectrum is identical for the two cases. A number of reasons are advanced for this.