1. Solid-state diffusion

1.1 General

Diffusion phenomena in the solid state correspond to jumps made by atoms in crystal defects, under the effect of thermal agitation (see articles The metallic state ).

While atomic migration velocities in gases or liquids are practically visible on a macroscopic scale, it's rare for a metal to show changes in its properties as a result of diffusion at room temperature. It is only at high temperatures, between T _f /2 and T _f , T _f being the melting temperature, that atomic transport becomes important at great distances in the crystal lattice. Diffusion is an important phenomenon, which underpins all...