Abstract:
Our laboratory has, over the years, developed a p rogramme of studies
of the effect of mechanical deformation on the transport properties
of solids. By applying tensile and shear stresses to metals and
determining the changes in such properties as thermoelectric emf,
resistivity and magnetic behaviour, we have made significant
contributions to the basic physics underlying theories of the behaviour
of these solids.
A second line of work involved studies of the tribological
behaviour of solids. We have been able to show, for the first time, that
the adhesion model of fnction which was originally developed for
metals can be applied, almost wholly, to polymers.
In this lecture, we give a panoramic account of these experiments.
ln a few concluding remarks, we point out what is probably wrong
with solid state physics research in Ghana ira-a-vis; glimpses of the
early development of the solid state group at the Bell Laboratories.
