Recently it has been argued, based on theoretical calculations and experimental data, that there is a universal form for the equation of state of solids. This observation was restricted to the range of temperatures and pressures such that there are no phase transitions. The use of this universal relation to estimate pressure-volume relations (i.e., isotherms) required three input parameters at each fixed temperature. In this paper we show that for many solids the input data needed to predict high-temperature thermodynamical properties can be dramatically reduced. In particular, only four numbers are needed: (1) the zero pressure (P=0) isothermal bulk modulus, (2) its P=0 pressure derivative, (3) the P=0 volume, and (4) the P=0 thermal expansion; all evaluated at a single (reference) temperature. Explicit predictions are made for the high-temperature isotherms, the thermal expansion as a function of temperature, and the temperature variation of the isothermal bulk modulus and its pressure derivative. These predictions are tested using experimental data for three representative solids: gold, sodium chloride, and xenon. Good agreement between theory and experiment is found.

• Received 5 May 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.35.1945