NEUTRON DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS OF LIQUID ZINC .2.

Recent experimental data obtained by neutron spectrometry of zinc in several laboratories have been analysed with the purpose of producing the ion-ion potential in this liquid metal. The Percus-Yevick theory that is known to produce reliable inter-atomic potential in simple liquid insulators such as argon, as well as the hyperchain theory were used. Both theories are found to be inadequate in the case of liquid metals, at least if the experimental data presently available are used. Furthermore it seems that in order to proceed efficiently along this line, the region of low wave-vector transfer should be explored with much greater accuracy than now available both in X-ray and neutron-diffraction experiments. © 1969 Società Italiana di Fisica.