X-ray investigation of short-range order in the liquid eutectic alloy Bi-Cd-Sn

From an analysis of the curves of the intensity of x-ray scattering and the atomic radial distribution function, information has been obtained about the formation of a complex polystructure in a liquid Bi-Cd-Sn melt near the melting point. The hypothesis is proposed that in the most probable structure of the liquid eutectic Bi-Cd-Sn alloy, in the neighborhood of the melting point, there are microscopic orbital regions containing bismuth atoms and microscopic regions with a statistical distribution of cadmium and tin. As the temperature is raised, this atomic distribution changes, and a homogeneous atomic solution is formed.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 7–10, March, 1975.