| Abstract: | The atomic or molecular structure of simple liquids may be studied experimentally through radiation scattering experiments. Normally, these experiments involve either beams of E-M radiation or of thermal neutrons, and frequently the samples included both hydrogenated and deuterated liquids. In order to interpret such data it has been assumed (frequently) that the liquid structure was unchanged when the H/D composition was changed. Similar comments apply to hydrogeneous glasses. As the quality of the data and of model calculations improved with passing years, limits to these assumptions were discovered. Part I of this review will cover both the background material and the research which led to an understanding of this field, and also determined the magnitude and shape of the observable effects. Subsequent research from the 90s onwards will be reviewed in Part II. |
