Physicists are interested in understanding the processes of nature. Within the
field of Solid State Physics the characterisation of materials and the measurement
of their properties is the first step towards identifiying new and interesting areas
of scientific activities.
The electrical resistivity of conductive materials is an important property which
provides information about the electronic behaviour of the material. An elegant
method to determine this characteristic is the measurement without using
electrical contacts. Such a method avoids a whole set of experimental problems
connected with the physics of electrical contacts to the sample.
This Master-thesis gives an introduction into this experimental technique. A detailed
theoretical description is developed. The experimental activity has involved
the design, construction and testing of the apparatus. In the process of testing
the method novel aspect emerged: The measurement at resonance point. These
measurements can yield separate values for two different physical quantities: the
electrical resistivity e and the magnetic susceptibility x.
The innovation of this project is the simultaneous characterisation of both values
for the material under investigation.
The report starts by giving the theoretical background within which the first part
of the detailed theoretical predictions are discussed. The second part contains
experiments and a description of the experimental set-up. This design is the
result of a long period of optimisation and testing. The working of the apparatus
is demonstrated by the measurement of some samples
