Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Harrison N
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6639308 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Harrison N N Betts J B JB Wartenbe M R MR Balakirev F F FF Richmond S S Jaime M M Tobash P H PH
Nature communications 20190718 1
Plutonium metal undergoes an anomalously large 25% collapse in volume from its largest volume δ phase (δ-Pu) to its low temperature α phase, yet the underlying thermodynamic mechanism has largely remained a mystery. Here we use magnetostriction measurements to isolate a previously hidden yet substantial electronic contribution to the entropy of δ-Pu, which we show to be crucial for the stabilization of this phase. The entropy originates from two competing instabilities of the 5f-electron shell, ...[more]