A method has been developed for preparing alloy specimens suitable directly, without further mechanical processing, for measuring electrical conductivity; this is especially important for brittle and easily oxidized alloys. The electrical conductivity and its temperature coefficient were measured for five alloy systems with clearly defined compounds, the nature of which was precisely established, by means of various metallographic methods. Existing theories of electrical conductivity of alloys have been analyzed. An attempt has been made to theoretically explain the differences in the properties of the temperature coefficient between certain compounds and solid solutions, which are not provided by the existing theories.

The study of the electrical conductivity of metal alloys makes it possible, along with other physical research methods, to judge their chemical nature. Matthiessen, who carried out classical research in this field, was the first to try to find the relationship between the composition and electrical conductivity of alloys. But at that time (the 60s and 70s of the last century), ideas about the nature of alloys and information about their structure were so imperfect that it is not always possible to agree with the author’s conclusions on this issue.