The thermoelectric power of nickel and its alloys

Abstract

Measurements are reported of the temperature variation of the absolute thermoelectric power of pure nickel and its dilute alloys with Pd, Cu, Co, Fe, Mn, Cr, V and Ti. Most of the data have been taken between 2 degrees K and 100 degrees K, although certain measurements have only been made between 2 degrees K and 15 degrees K. The curves taken over the wider temperature range all exhibit pronounced minima at about 40 degrees K, with the depth of the minima considerably greater in the Ni-Cu, Ni-Co and Ni-Fe alloys than in pure nickel. It is argued that this is due to the effect of spin-mixing on the phonon drag component of thermopower. There is a discussion of the likely influence of spin- mixing on the diffusion thermopower.