The Electrical Properties of Disordered Metals (Cambridge Solid State Science Series)

The theory of metallic conduction has, until recently, been confined to crystalline metals with atoms in regular arrays. The discovery of solid amorphous alloys led to an explosion of measurements of their electronic properties, and the emergence of a range of interesting low temperature phenomena. The book describes in physical terms the theory of the electrical conductivity, Hall coefficient, magnetoresistance and thermopower of disordered metals and alloys. The author begins by showing how conventional Boltzmann theory can be extended and modified when the mean free path of the conduction electrons becomes comparable with their wavelength and interionic separation. Dugdale explores the consequences of this and tests the theory by applying it to experimental data on metallic glasses. Designed as a self-contained review, the book will appeal to nonspecialist physicists, metallurgists and chemists with an interest in disordered metals.