The electrical resistivity of bulk Ge₂₀Te₈₀ has been measured as a function of pressure and temperature. At 5 GPa, an amorphous semiconductor-to-crystalline metal transition has been observed. The sample recovered from the high pressure cell, after the application of 7 GPa, has a face-centred cubic structure with a lattice constant of 6·42 A. In crystalline sample, the semiconductor-to-metal transition occurs at 7 GPa. The thermoelectric power has also been measured for glassy samples in the temperature range 300–240 K.

The pressure dependence of the electrical resistivity of bulk GeSe₂ glass shows a semiconductor-to-metal transition at 7 GPa pressure. The high pressure phase is examined using the x-ray diffractometer and is found to be crystalline, with a face-centred cubic structure havinga = 4·06 A. The electrical conductivity has also been studied as a function of temperature at various pressures.

Electron and x-ray diffraction experiments on the metlt-spun Al_100−xFe_x (x=14, 18, 25) alloys are carried out. It is observed that all the melt-spun alloys possessing the quasi-crystalline phases have icosahedral point-group symmetry.

The article reviews the experimental techniques used in high pressure-low temperature investigations to study a variety of physico-chemical phenomena. The general principles of producing high pressures at low temperatures, the methods of measuring P and T, the materials used for construction and the diamond anvil cell (DAC) are briefly given first. Specific pieces of apparatus to measure the mechanical properties, phase equilibria, thermal properties, electrical properties, magnetic phenomena, optical and Raman/IR spectroscopic behaviour as well as Mössbauer spectra are then discussed. While instrumentation is the main emphasis of the article, a few illustrative examples of interesting observations are also indicated. Over 250 current papers are cited.