The relation between Mean atomic volume and composition in silver-zinc alloys

The silver-zinc system is similar in many respects to the copper-zinc system. The latter has already been investigated in detail by X-ray precision methods, and it is desirable that similar data should be obtained concerning the silver-zinc system, so that a closer comparison, than has hitherto been possible, may be made between the two systems. In the present paper an account is given of a detailed study of the relation between the mean atomic volume and the composition of alloys in this system. Although the X-ray technique was in general the same as that employed in our previous investigations, an interesting experimental difficulty in connection with the preparation of the alloys was encountered at the outset of the work. When the alloys were prepared in the usual way by melting the one component in the other, it was impossible to obtain reflection lines on the photographic film, however carefully the alloys were annealed. To overcome the difficulty, it was found necessary to prepare the alloys by the process of inter-diffusion, a method hitherto but little used for the preparation of alloys for X-ray analysis. By this method we were able to investigate alloys in the silver-zinc system over the whole composition range. It is probable that the method may be of service in other connections and that the results recorded here may assist in suggesting its more general use.