Double structure of molten metals

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Abstract
Experiments show that two structures occur in solid amorphous and in molten Bi, i.e. the spherical close packing and the layer lattice structure. Here the layer lattices are neither a fragment nor a part of the Bi lattice, but they are produced from the lattice by a reduction of the interlayer distance. This double structure is also found in the monoatomic metal melts. In the atomic distribution curves of molten In and Sn the double structure shows up as a straight atomic chain with the respective distances within the chain rv =v×r 1 and rv/' =v×r 1/', where r 1 and r 1/' mean the shortest atomic distance in the spherical close packing and in the layer lattice structure. In the melts of Au, Ag, Pb and T1 as of Na and Cs, however, the spherical close packing shows up as a zig-zag chain. The straight atomic chain and the zig-zag chain are in fact imaginary, being parts of layer lattices with limited order. In conclusion the real zig-zag chain of solid amorphous Se is considered. Even here layer lattices, composed of plane atomic chains, are found, but never single isolated atomic chains.