Calculations of electrical transport properties of liquid metals at high pressures
It is shown how the usual nearly-free-electron model for the electrical resistivity of simple liquid metals can be extended to the case of liquid transition metals such as iron. A simple prescription is given for calculating the resistivity at different densities and temperatures. As an application and example of the method, calculations on liquid iron at different densities were carried out and the resistivity of molten iron in the earth's outer core is estimated. The effects of alloying iron with other elements are also considered. The calculated conductivity of the outer core is well within the limit required for the dynamo model of the geomagnetic field and agrees well with some recent shock wave data.