| Abstract: | Evidence has steadily accumulated to show that at high temperatures (above the Debye temperature, θ) the thermal pressure, PTH, of solids, is linear with T to a close approximation. This empirical finding yields a simple relationship between P, V, and T quite useful for the computation of the equation-of-state (EOS). For geophysical applications, the empirical data is, so far, limited to a few minerals, all of which are important to our geophysical models of the Earth. The same results have been found for a variety of types of solids, including alkali metals, noble gas solids, alkali halides and metals in addition to minerals. It is argued that the linearity between PTH and T is a general high-temperature property of solids. This includes minerals. Thus it is proposed that there exists a common thermal EOS which transcends the chemical bonding type and crystallographic class. |
