Physics of the melting point

Lindemann developed the melting temperature theory over 100 years ago, known as the Lindemann criterion. Its main assumption is that melting occurs when the root-mean-square vibration amplitude of ions and atoms in crystals exceeds a critical fraction, η of the inter-atomic spacing in crystals. The Lindemann coefficient η is undefined and scientific papers report different η values for different elements. In this paper, Dr Vopson and his collaborators, present previously unobserved data trends pointing to the fact that the Lindemann coefficient could be linked to the periodic groups of the periodic table, having an exact value for each element belonging to a given periodic group. This newly observed result opens up the possibility of further refining the Lindemann melting criterion by stimulating analytical studies of the Lindemann coefficient in the light of this newly discovered result.
Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssc.2020.113977