Nature of Interatomic Bonding in Beryllium.
Abstract
The nature of the interatomic bonding in beryllium has been studied by means of elastic constant measurements and observations of Compton scattering from beryllium single crystals. The elastic constants were measured as a function of hydrostatic pressure up to 6 kilobars for pure beryllium and for alloys containing 1.1, 2.4, and 2.9 wt pct copper. The principle result is the observation that the elastic constant C13 approx. = 0. This indicates that acoustic waves normal to the basal plane are completely uncoupled from those travelling in the basal plane, and there is the corresponding implication that there are two orthogonal independent force systems between atoms. Beryllium appears to be a unique metal in this respect. The Compton X-ray scattering profiles were used to obtain the electron momentum distribution. These data were interpreted to indicate that the bonding in beryllium is anisotropic. There is an implication of a covalent bonding contribution along the c-axis, whereas the bonding in the basal plane appears to be metallic. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0869846
Entities
People
- B .l. Averbach
- Donald J. Silversmith
- Roland Currat
- Roy Kaplow
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology