Structure of liquid metals is the arrangement or distribution of the atoms or ions in liquid metal. There are usually long-range disordered structure, short-range ordered structure, and undulating structure. The distribution pattern of the atoms (or ions) of liquid metal is determined by the interaction between atoms. All models and theories regarding structure of liquid metals are intended to explain the relation between atomic arrangement and interatomic interaction. Usually, a rigorous physical or mathematical expression is employed to describe the structure and explain the physical and chemical properties of liquid metal. Both solids and gases are already covered by the well-developed theories that describe their structures and properties, e.g., crystal theory and ideal gas theory, but no similar physical or chemical theory has been created to describe liquids.
It is more difficult to investigate liquid metals than solid metals, and most practically used metallic materials are in...
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Further Reading
Shimoji M (1977) Liquid metals – an introduction to the physics and chemistry of metals in the liquid state. Academic Press, London
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Jizhi, C., Mingxu, X., Kuangdi, X. (2023). Structure of Liquid Metals. In: Xu, K. (eds) The ECPH Encyclopedia of Mining and Metallurgy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0740-1_933-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0740-1_933-1
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