The Cohesion Phenomena of Cadmium.
The cohesion phenomena of cadmium are similar to those of zinc but are still more striking. When a crystal is sharply focused under the microscope and then gently pressed on the side with the point of aneedle an unbroken pyramidal face is seen to suddenly become striated parallel to the basal plane, as though a gliding in the basal section took place. Some of these crystals were kindly examined by Prof. Otto Mügge of Münster, Germany, who has added so much to our knowledge of the cohesion phenomena in crystals. He has written in regard to his observations as follows; “The cadmium crystals as far as their gliding phenomena are concerned behave quite like zinc. If a crystal is carefully loosened and then squeezed with a pair of pincers it is easy to see that the smooth surface where it was attached to the glass became striated parallel to OP (0001) and that at the same time two other sets of striations are produced which meet at an angle of about85° and intersect the trace of the basal plane at about 47½°. The plane of attachment was selected for observation because it was smoother than the pyramidal faces. In the above case this plane has the position of a steep pyramid inclined to the base at an angle of about 100°. The oblique sets of striations appear to represent gliding planes parallel to the unit pyramid faces (2P (10ī2) of Rose) as in the case with zinc. Whether the horizontal striations were due to gliding parallel to the base I could not certainly decide. Many of the crystals appear when pinched to be completely overturned, in which cases ordinary bending accompanies gliding as in the case of gold set. This is shown by the fact that both faces and striations become rounded.”