Date of Award
1972
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Physics
First Advisor
Robert N. Blumenthal
Second Advisor
I. Bransky
Third Advisor
N. M. Tallan
Fourth Advisor
W. M. Hirthe
Fifth Advisor
M. A. Seitz
Abstract
In this study, the compositional changes which take place during equilibration were monitored either by continuously weighing the specimen with a sensitive microbalance or by measuring its electrical conductivity. The monoxides of manganese, cobalt and iron were chosen for study since these oxides depart from stoichiometry to an extent that is easily measured by thermogravimetric techniques at high temperature. In addition, the availability of other diffusion and point defect data on these oxides offered the possibility of a meaningful comparison with other diffusion experiments and a means of determining the validity of the equilibration kinetics technique. Since the thermogravimetric technique measures the change in oxygen content of the oxide directly, the validity of the electrical conductivity technique, which involves several assumptions, could also be determined on the same specimens.