Equation of state and electrical resistivity of liquid mercury at elevated temperatures and pressures

Abstract

Experimental results have been obtained for the density and electrical resistivity of liquid mercury as functions of the independent variables temperature (20°c–1000°c) and pressure (0–1000 bars). Basic equipment for both measurements consisted of a steel vessel containing an internal electrical resistance furnace and pressurized with argon gas. The equation of state was determined with an accuracy of about ±1/4% using Archimedes' method by employing a series of totally immersed radioactive sinkers whose rise or fall in the mercury was detected with a γ-ray counter external to the pressure vessel. The electrical resistivity was measured with an accuracy of about ±1/2% using a four-lead resistance cell fabricated in fused silica. The two measurements have also been combined to give electrical resistivity at constant volume.