Energy and Pressure Calculations for Metallic NH4.
Abstract
It has long been known that the ammonium ion NH4(+) behaves in many ways like an alkali metal ion. This report dicusses a possible transition (under pressure) from a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen (NH3-1/2H2) to metallic NH4 in the 'funny sodium' form. This form may be defined as a lattice composed of metallic NH4(+) ions and s-like electrons (one per ion). The ion has the sodium Z number but only seven protons (those from N) are in the nucleus; the other four protons (those from the four H atoms) from a tetrahedral arrangement around the N nucleus. This tetrahedral arrangement is then approximated by a spherical shell at a radius determined by a variational calculation for the total energy of the tetrahedral ion. (The resulting radius lies well out in the ion electron cloud.) Since a Wigner-Seitz polyhedra approach is used, no specific lattice structure is considered. We comment on the earlier calculation of Bernal and Massey (BM) and the more recent calculation of Stevenson. Emphasis is on the BM metallic calculation which we have essentially repeated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA056017
Entities
People
- D. M. Gray
Organizations
- United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center