Abstract
Consideration of the anharmonic properties of a linear chain suggests that the dimensionless quantity is in general a measure of the anharmonicity of a lattice ( is the thermal expansion coefficient and the Grüneisen parameter). It is therefore proposed that the mean free path for lattice vibrations in an insulator should, in the classical temperature region, be approximately , where is the lattice spacing. Reasonably good agreement with experiment is found.
- Received 8 February 1955
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.98.1751
©1955 American Physical Society