EFFECT OF ELASTIC STRESS ON THE RESISTIVITY AND TC OF (BI,PB)2SR2CAN-1CUNOX

We have measured the effect of elastic uniaxial stress sigma in the a direction on the superconducting transition temperature T(c) of (Bi, Pb)2Sr2Ca1Cu2O(x) (2212) and (Bi, Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O(x) (2223). We find dT/d-sigma-11 = -10 +/- 2 K/GPa for 2212 and -6 +/- 2K/GPa for the 2223 compound. Combining these results with those of others on dT(c)/dP we find that dT(c)/d-sigma-33 = +18 K/GPa. An estimate of the elastic constants of these compounds from the work of others together with these results implies that the change in T(c) with a fractional change in the c-axis spacing is probably positive, although the uncertainties in the elastic constants make this estimate subject to a large uncertainty. The resistance changes by less than 1 part in 12 000 for strains up to 0.5%, implying that dln rho/d-sigma-11 = -76 x 10(-3) GPa-1.