The de Haas-van Alphen effect in zinc has been investigated at 4.2°K by measuring the couple on a zinc crystal in a uniform magnetic field. The data obtained give the dependence of the susceptibility both on field strength and on orientation of the crystal relative to the direction of the field. The susceptibility is found to be isotropic in the main cleavage plane. The experimental results are compared to the theory of Blackman and Landau, with which their main features are in qualitative agreement.

Detailed examination, however, indicates discrepancies in (a) the phase of the periodicity, and (b) the shape and amplitude of the envelope of the oscillations, in that the theoretical envelope as interpreted from the data at low fields decreases too slowly at high fields. From the comparison we estimate that the electrons responsible for the effect have a chemical potential $E_0=0.02\mathrm{}$ electron volts, a transverse effective mass $m_1=0.01\mathrm{}{m}_0$ (where $m_0$ is the free electron mass), and a ratio of transverse mass to longitudinal mass $\frac{m_1}{m_3}=0.01\mathrm{}$. From these values, the specific heat of these electrons is estimated to be 0.1 percent of the measured electronic heat, and their number to be 2 × ${10}^{-6\mathrm{}}$ per atom. Comparison of these results to the work of Marcus on zinc and Shoenberg on bismuth has also been made.

• Received 20 September 1948

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.75.118