THE LAW OF CORRESPONDING STATES AND COLD NEUTRON SCATTERING BY LIQUIDS

Although the law of corresponding states can be used in the practical analysis of cold neutron scattering data from liquids only if quantum effects are negligible, it is of interest, nevertheless, to have a quantum mechanical derivation of this law, because it is only then that one can discuss, in a completely consistent way, the conditions under which quantum effects are negligible. Such a derivation is given in the present paper. We also present an extension of the law of corresponding states to the velocity spectrum of an atom in a simple liquid and indicate how this can be used to check the consistency and extend the range of applicability of theoretical models of the velocity spectrum.