The electrical resistance of a metal at low temperatures and Matthiessen's rule

Abstract

By solving the fundamental integral equation an expression is obtained for the electrical resistance which takes into account, to the first approximation, the mutual influence of the impurities and the lattice vibrations. It is found that deviations from Matthiessen's rule are to be expected and that these deviations are surprisingly large. The formulae derived only indicate the trend of the resistance curve, but this trend is not confirmed by experiment. Whereas the theory indicates that the mutual influence of the impurities and the lattice vibrations should decrease the electrical resistance, the experimental results of Grüneisen on copper show that, when deviations from Matthiesen's rule occur, the resistance is increased.