Kinetics of structural relaxation in several metallic glasses observed by changes in electrical resistivity

Measurements of the kinetics of structural relaxation in transition-metal---metalloid and transition-metal---transition-metal metallic glasses as observed by changes in their electrical resistivity are presented. Both positive and negative changes in the resistivity (ρ) and the temperature coefficient of resistivity (α) are reported; the sign of Δρ is opposite to the sign of Δα. These observations provide a sensitive new test for theories of the resistivity in disordered metallic alloys. For two transition-metal---metalloid glasses, Pd₈₂{Si}₁₈$ and ${Pd}77.5Cu₆{Si}16.5$, the kinetics of resistivity relaxation are compared with the kinetics of viscosity relaxation using the free-volume model for flow and the Ziman theory of resistivity.