Melting and freezing of metals

Abstract

A method is described for measuring the thermoelectric power of metals in the immediate neighbourhood of their melting points, for both the solid and the molten states, and for thermojunctions formed between them. Results are recorded for the metals Sn, Pb, In, Bi, Cd and Ga. On melting, a jump in thermoelectric power is observed in the negative sense for Pb, In, Cd and Ga and in the positive sense for Bi and Sn. Premelting trends are found in solid In and Cd, and also possible prefreezing effects in molten Sn and Bi.