Lindemann s rule

Obviously, thermal vibrations of atoms in a solid are strongest on the verge of melting. Sutherland was the first (1891) to suggest that melting occurs when the amplitude of vibrations reaches a certain fraction (equal for all the elements) of the atomic size [13]. In 1910, Lindemann [14] developed this idea and related the critical amplitude to the temperature of melting (Tm) and atomic oscillation frequency v proportional to the characteristic Debye temperature ( ). In its modern form [15] the Lindemann s rule states that a material melts at the temperature at which the amplitude of thermal vibration exceeds a certain critical fraction of the interatomic distance, and this fraction depends somewhat on the crystal structure, position in the Periodic Table, and perhaps other unspecified physical quantities. These works initiated numerous... 

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