Thermal expansion of an amorphous alloy. Reciprocal-space versus real-space distribution functions

This paper describes the relation between the change in the position of the first X-ray diffraction maximum in reciprocal space and the first maximum of the distribution function in real space for the Ge50Al40Cr10Ge50Al40Cr10 amorphous alloy. It is also shown that the first diffraction maximum of the interference function carries the most significant information about the interatomic distances in real space while the subsequent peaks of the interference function are responsible for the shoulders of the main peak of the real-space distribution function. The results are used to support validity of the method previously used to monitor thermal expansion of the glassy alloys using an X-ray diffraction profile.