Copper's melting point via a heating-ramp simulation¶
System(s): Polaris · Code: LAMMPS · Outcome: Success
The ask¶
(This campaign predates verbatim prompt logging — the request below is reconstructed from the campaign's documented design, not a direct quote.)
"Determine copper's melting point by simulating a continuous heating ramp rather than discrete temperature sweeps."
What happened¶
Unlike the discrete-temperature argon study, this campaign heated a copper crystal continuously and watched for the volume discontinuity that marks melting in real time.
Results¶
- Solid-to-liquid volume discontinuity observed at approximately 1,590 K.
- This is higher than copper's experimental melting point (1,358 K) — expected "superheating" behavior for a bulk crystal without a free surface or defect to nucleate melting, a well-known artifact of this simulation method rather than an error.