Effect of Pressure on the Resistance of Pyrolytic Graphite

The effect of pressure to several hundred kilobars has been measured on samples of pyrolytic graphite of density 2.18 and 2.20. Measurements along the c axis show a relatively high resistance which decreases with increasing pressure and levels at high pressure, apparently due to strongly decreasing compressibility. Along the a axis the resistance is low, but increases at higher pressures apparently due to recrystallization.