Electrical resistivity of alkali metals

The temperature variations of the electrical resistivity of alkali metals lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium are calculated in the free electron approximation and using Krebs's model for the phonon spectrum. The double average over the Fermi surface is evaluated by an improved method due toBailyn and the separation between normal and Umklapp processes is affected in a more satisfactory manner. The results of the calculations are compared with the experimental data obtained at different temperatures. The theoretical resistivity curves for sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium show satisfactory agreement with experiment, but not in the case of lithium.