Electrical Resistivity of Scandium

Abstract

Electrical resistivity of polycrystalline scandium has been studied between 1.38° and 358.8°K. The measurements show a step-type anomaly in the resistivity between 4 and 5°K and possibly a very small minimum at 9.5°K. Considerable hysteresis in the electrical resistivity exists at low temperatures, depending upon the previous thermal history of the sample. It is very likely that these anomalies may be associated with a super-conductive substructure resulting from the presence of small amounts of tantalum as an impurity. However, the possibility that the anomalous behavior is due to the occurrence of some cooperative magnetic states at low temperatures cannot be completely eliminated at the present time. Between about 80° and 360°K the intrinsic resistivity of scandium is describable by the Bloch-Grüneisen formula with Debye θ of 275°K. At lower temperatures the temperature dependence of the intrinsic resistivity is consistent with expectations derived from the interband electron-phonon scattering. Ziman's reduced electrical resistivity at 300°K is calculated to be 50.8.