The thermal expansion of solids

Abstract

Abstract The assumptions involved in two well-known formulae due to Grüneisen are investigated and with these assumptions an explicit formula for the volume of a solid as a function of temperature is derived. Application is made to the case of KCl and the results compared with experiment with a view to deciding whether defects are present at high temperatures. Defects in the theory and a previous investigation by Fischmeister are discussed.