Experimental measurement of the solid-liquid interfacial energies of transparent materials

Experimental figures for the solid-liquid free energy, γSL have been obtained for the transparent systems ice-water, white phosphorus, camphene and sucinonitrile. The values determined were, respectively, 41±9 (averaged over planes containing the c axis), 10·5±2·0, 5·3±0·9 and 28±5 erg/cm2 (10−3 J m−2). These results were derived by directly observing the shapes of grain-boundary grooves at a solid-liquid interface in a thin sample of material placed in a temperature gradient. The anisotropy of γSL in the three latter substances was found to be small.