Determination of acoustic velocities in xenon and methane hydrates by Brillouin Spectroscopy

The technique of Brillouin spectroscopy has, for the first time, been used to determine the longitudinal sound velocities in pure methane hydrate and xenon hydrate. The samples were artificially grown and polycrystalline. The velocity in methane hydrate, which on theoretical grounds is relatively independent of the degree of cage occupancy, was determined experimentally to be approximately 0.88 that of ice.