191 Apart from numerous difficulties arising from the high pressure
technique as such, there is a natural limitation to the possibility of
applying a hydrostatic pressure, since liquids under pressure will
solidify above a certain pressure limit. 8 2 Up to pressures of 3 X 10
kg.jm. at room temperature, a liquid like isopentane can be used. For
higher pressures helium gas may be used, perhaps to about 9 2 10 kg.jm.,
but BRIDGMAN already encountered enormous leakage difficulties 7 when
using this gas at 7.10 kg.jm.2 at 90° K. A solution has been found by
applying mechanical pressure for the range 8 9 2 between 3 X 10 and 10
kg.jm., by using silver chloride as transmittant. In this case, however,
one has to apply unknown corrections for shearing stress and deformation
of the sample, a problem which BRIDGMAN solved experimentally by a
determination of the resistivity in the pressure region between 2 and 8
2 5 X 10 kg.jm., by the hydrostatic and by the mechanical pressure
method as well, and applying the correction factor thus determined to
the results obtained at higher pressures. Though this method seems to be
right in good approximation, the data for the highest pressures are to
be considered as less accurate.