A study of the energetics of solids leads to the conclusion that the equation of state for all classes of solids in compression can be expressed in terms of a universal function. The form of this universal function is determined by scaling experimental compression data for measured isotherms of a wide variety of solids. The equation of state is thus known (in the absence of phase transitions), if zero-pressure volume and isothermal compression and its pressure derivative are known. The discovery described in this paper has two immediate consequences: first, despite the well known differences in the microscopic energetics of the various classes of solids, there is a single equation of state for all classes in compression; and second, a new method is provided for analysing measured isotherms and extrapolating highpressure data from low-pressure (e.g. acoustic) data.

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four numbers are needed: (1) the zero pressure (P = 0) Isothermal bulk modulus; (2) Its P = 0 pressure derivative; (3) the P = 0 volume; and (4) the P = 0 thermal expansion; all evaluated at a single (reference) temperature.Explicit predictions are made for the high temperature Isotherms, the thermal expansion as a function of temperature, and the temperature variation of the 00 I *V1s1t1ng scientist

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