Abstract. There has been substantial renewed interest in negative thermal expansion following the discovery that cubic ZrW₂O₈ contracts over a temperature range in excess of 1000 K. Substances of many different kinds show negative thermal expansion, especially at low temperatures. In this article we review the underlying thermodynamics, emphasizing the roles of thermal stress and elasticity. We also discuss vibrational and non-vibrational mechanisms operating on the atomic scale that are responsible for negative expansion, both isotropic and anisotropic, in a wide range of materials.

Print publication: Issue 4 (2 February 2005)
Received 30 October 2004
Published 14 January 2005