No 1, Vol. 6, 2003 
 

DETERMINATION OF TIME CHARACTERISTICS OF SOLIDIFICATION OF
SUPERCOOLED HALIDE MELT FROM MEASUREMENTS OF ITS ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

P. Deom1,2, A.M. Sveshnikov1, K. Nitsch1, M. Rodová1 and Z. Kozíšek1

1 Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic,
Cukrovarnická 10, 162 53 Praha, 6, Chech Republic
2 Chech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Civil Engineering,
Dept. of Physics, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Praha, 6, Chech Republic

Abstract

Origin of supercoolability in metallic and halide melts is discussed. While the level of supercooling in metals is closely connected with the structural incompatibilities between the molten state and product crystal, respectively, the supercoolability of halide melts is caused by their strong complex-forming nature. The investigation of processes in supercooled melts is important, because the supercooling of melt strongly influences the nucleation and growth of crystals from the melt and their final quality. Electrical resistance is a suitable quantity to study the solidification of melts, since it can be measured both in liquid state (including supercooled melt) and during the solidification. The early stage of solidification of PbBr2 melt was analyzed within the context of nonstationary nucleation theory. The proposed model describes the time dependence of electrical conductivity of the melt. The time lag of nucleation is calculated and compared with the experimental value.

full paper (pdf, 320 Kb)