Solid State Physics. Philip Hofmann
Brillouin zone. For instructors, Python scripts for individual problems are provided as part of the instructor resources that are available from the publisher.
Another major change in the problem sections is the addition of a “basic concepts” section in addition to the “discussion questions” and the more complex “problems” from the second edition. Many (but not all) of the new “basic concepts” questions are of the multiple‐choice type and the solutions to all of them are given in Appendix B. As in the first two editions, the “discussion questions” can serve as an inspiration to think about the central new concepts of each chapter or for discussing them in class, whereas the “problems” serve for a more in‐depth exploration of the subjects. As in the previous editions, problems marked by an asterisk * are particularly challenging. The “basic concepts” section can be used in self‐studies to test one's understanding of the most important ideas. Most of the questions do not require any calculations but they still go beyond a simple repetition of the chapter's content and involve some thinking. The number of “basic concepts” questions in a given chapter depends on the number and complexity of new concepts introduced in this chapter. Chapter 1, for instance, introduces difficult and very important ideas such as the reciprocal lattice, and therefore it contains a large number of “basic concepts” questions. Chapter 3, on the other hand, is conceptually less difficult and contains only a few of them. Many more of this type of questions along with their solutions can be found on my website at www.philiphofmann.net.
The multiple‐choice questions have only one correct answer, or, if several correct answers exist, there is an explicit option to choose this, e. g., “C. Both A. and B. are correct.” In some cases, there is an overlap between a “basic concepts” question testing a conceptual understanding of a subject and a “problem” with a more in‐depth treatment of the same question.
My thanks go to the 2021 class of the Statistical Physics and Solid State Physics course at Aarhus University for testing much of the new content, as well as to the teaching instructors Paulina Majchrzak, Alfred Jones, Michael Iversen and Nikolaj Rønne. I also thank Davide Curcio for introducing me to a new set of advanced writing tools and Charlotte E. Sanders for many helpful comments on the manuscript.
Physical Constants and Energy Equivalents
| Planck constant |
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| Boltzmann constant |
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| Proton charge |
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| Bohr radius |
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| Bohr magneton |
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| Avogadro constant |
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| Speed of light |
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| Rest mass of the electron |
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| Rest mass of the proton |
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| Rest mass of the neutron |
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| Atomic mass unit | u |
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| Permeability of vacuum |
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Permittivity of vacuum
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