Solid State Physics Course Web Page, Fall, 2009
(COMBINED Courses Physics 4309 & Physics 5304)
9:00-9:50am, Monday, Wednesday, AND Friday, Science Room 112
NOTE!!! These pages are under construction!!!!
There may still be changes before the first class, Friday, August 28! Last Update: 9/8/09
Dr. Myles' Future Teaching is discussed Here.
Fall, 2009 TTU Academic Calendar. Final Exam Schedule.
Course Syllabus (+ Learning Goals & Assessments) Announcements   Lectures  Exams  Homework 
Instructor & Contact Information
Dr. Charles W. Myles, Professor, Physics. Office: Science Room 18. Phone: 742-3768. Office Hours: 10am-noon + 3pm - 4pm MWF, & by appointment. E-mail: Charley.Myles@ttu.edu. An email distribution list will be developed. Please make sure that I have your correct email address, that you tell me if it changes, & that you check your email DAILY!! Please read an important email announcement Here!!

Primary Textbook
Introduction to Solid State Physics, by Charles Kittel. 8th Edition please!!
8th Edition Webpage. (John Wiley & sons, 2005). ISBN-10: 047141526X, ISBN-13: 9780471415268.
The 8th Edition is REQUIRED!! Major portions of the lectures will come from it. Topics will be discussed in approximately the order as the table of contents. Material from the supplemental books & from many other sources will also be used. Numerous sources exist. [A Google search on "Introduction to Solid State Physics" gives ~135,000 hits! Click Here.] This book has been the world standard introductory solid state physics text for 50+ years! It emphasizes physics rather than formal mathematics. It's available at bookstores & on-line, in hardbound or paperback. New, used, & "international" versions are possible. The "official" on-line publisher price is $131.95! [Shopping on-line, it's lower! Amazon has it for $98.44. A quick search finds prices of $5 (used) to $186!] I urge you to shop around & find the best price. Given the cost, wouldn't it be worthwhile to  READ IT???

Supplemental Textbooks
Having these is optional. Portions of the course will use some of the information in them.
1. Elementary Solid State Physics: Principles and Applications, by M. Ali Omar.
4th Edition Webpage. (Addison-Wesley, 1994). ISBN-10: 0201607336, ISBN-13: 9780201607338.
2. Solid State Physics, by Neil W. Ashcroft & N. David Mermin.
Book Webpage. (Thomson, 1976). ISBN-10: 0030839939, ISBN-13: 978-003083931.
.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Attend as many classes as possible, come to class prepared, do the homework. 
READ the material BEFORE I lecture over it. Keep up as we go along!    

Physics Level & Pre-Requisites, Objective, Topics
Physics Level & Pre-Requisites: This is a combined Undergraduate/Graduate Course! It is maily for upper level Undergraduate Physics Majors & Physics Graduate students who either do Solid State Physics research or who want to broaden their education beyond their research area. Upper level Undergraduates or Graduate Students in physics-related fields are also welcome! A knowledge of elementary quantum mechanics & statistical physics is assumed. This is an UPPER LEVEL course!!

Objective: To expose students to the rich, broad, varied field of SOLID STATE PHYSICS. NOTE! This ISN'T a semiconductor physics course!! (If you want such a course, take Physics 5335, Semiconductor Physics). This course is about many different kinds of solids & semiconductors are just a special category. In this course, we'll talk about the microscopic physics properties of mostly, CRYSTALLINE solids. It covers metals, insulators, & semiconductors. Near the end, we'll try to briefly discuss superconductors & ferromagnets. A general approach will usually be used, with much of the discussion applying to metals, insulators, & semiconductors.
This course is complementary to, but it ISN'T a replacement for Physics 5335, Semiconductor Physics!!
Physics 5335 is taught in the Fall of even numbered years. I taught it in the Fall, 2008 & will likely teach it again in the Fall, 2010.

Topics: The basics of solid state physics will be surveyed. As a survey, topics must be covered rapidly. A goal is to cover, as an overview, selected topics in Chs. 1-10 of the book by Kittel. Material will also come from supplemental books & many other sources. Detailed topic coverage will be announced as we go. The syllabus is Here. Course details, discussions of Homework, Exams, Semester Project, & Grading Scheme are there. PLEASE READ IT!

Attendance: I don't take roll & I have no specific attendance policy. However, isn't it obvious that (unless you're a genius!) class attendance is REQUIRED to get a good grade? (Or to LEARN SOMETHING!)? Also, since this is a small class, it will be apparent if you are not there!

Announcements & Calendar Items are on the Announcements Page, linked below.
Also below are links to Pages where Lectures & Exams will be posted. 
Motivations for the Study of Solid State Physics
     "Solid State Physics" is loosely defined as the study of the microscopic properties of the dense assembly of electrons formed by placing atoms very close together in a solid. This is a very large, very broad physics sub-field. As a research area, Solid State Physics can be thought of as the opposite of Particle Physics. Solid State Physics deals with the microcsopic properties of large COLLECTIONS of particles. By contrast, Particle Physics focuses on the properties of INDIVIDUAL particles. Particle physicists tend to break composite objects up into their constituent building blocks, while Solid State physicists are interested in what fundamentally NEW PROPERTIES emerge when these building blocks are grouped together in various ways. There are several Technological & Basic Physics motivations for the study of Solid State Physics.
     Technological Motivations: An obvious, very important motivation for the study of Solid State Physics is the fact that the microscopic properties it deals with are responsible for the majority of modern technology. These properties determine the mechanical strength of materials, how they interact with light, how they conduct electricity, etc. So, Solid State Physics is an important subject for technology, because it gives guidance on  how to design the circuits needed for modern electronic devices This field, after all, gave us both the transistor & the semiconductor chip! For these reasons, Solid State Physics has been traditionally linked to materials science, chemistry & engineering. Recently, it has also developed overlaps with biology, biochemistry, biotechnology & medicine. So, many current research questions in Solid State Physics are still at the frontiers of applied science & next-generation technologies.
     Basic Physics Motivations: Another important motivation for studying Solid State Physics is the fact that the basic, fundamental physics needed to understand the microscopic properties of solids is very interesting. Further, to understand these properties, the ideas & methods of quantum mechanics must be used. In fact, the physics of solids is VERY deeply quantum mechanical. For this reason, Solid State Physics has sometimes been called the best "laboratory" for studying subtle quantum mechanical effects. This course may be a first chance for students to see quantum mechanical ideas & methods applied to cases where their technological consequences are so important. Two examples (of MANY!) for which Solid State Physics discoveries have revealed very interesting fundamental physics are the observations & explanations of Superconductivity & the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect. Both of these have exotic quantum explanations. A strong indicator that Solid State Physics has led (& continues to lead!) to the understanding of many very interesting basic physics phenomena is the fact that
More than 40% of the Physics Nobel Prizes in the past 40 years
(& 50% of those in the past 10 years!) have been for work in Solid State Physics!

The Solid State Physics Research Area
Many of you are likely taking this course because it is related to your research area. If so, I believe that you've chosen a very good,  interesting field! LARGE amounts of new physics is discovered in this area all of the time. For example, the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Condensed Matter Physics or DCMP ("Condensed Matter" is ~ the same as "Solid State") is, BY FAR, the largest APS division! Roughly (1/3) of the ~ 50,000 APS members belong to DCMP. Another APS division is the Division of Materials Physics or DMP ("Materials Physics" is ~ the same as "Applied Solid State"), which was started 12-15 years ago. The DMP is rapidly growing & lmay eventually become similar in size to the DCMP. (Many people belong to both!). BY FAR, the largest annual APS meeting is the joint meeting of DCMP & DMP. It is held each March (it's called the "March Meeting"!). The 2009 March Meeting (Pittsburgh, PA) had ~7,000+ people & ~5,000+ papers!
NOTE! No matter what their research area, every Physics graduate student, & every undergraduate who wants to go to graduate school
should join the APS!  The first year's membership is FREE to students & the following student years are highly discounted!
Graduate students working in Solid State, Condensed Matter, or Materials Physics should also consider joining the Materials Research Society (MRS)! The MRS is another large professional organization, but it has a very interdisciplinary membership. This reflects the fact that people with many different backgrounds are doing various kinds of materials research. For example, it has members with backgrounds in Physics, in Chemistry, & in various types of Engineering.
Announcements & Calendar Items
Announcement Page:  Will have announcements/calendar items.
Usually updated shortly after each class.  Please check it at least 2 or 3 times a week!
Lectures, Exams, Homework, Semester Project
COPYRIGHT: Lectures & Exams are copyrighted & owned by C.W. Myles!  No reproduction or use of them other than by students in this course  is allowed!
Click Here to find out how to reduce the # of pages when printing a Power Point file! Click Here to find out how to get Power Point & Word  for free or almost free!
Lecture Page: Will have Lectures (Power Point). Under Construction! A GOAL is to post them before we discuss a topic in class, but I can't promise!
If I succeed in this, it might be helpful to download the Lectures BEFORE I cover the material in class.
You can print them, several slides/page. Rather than try to take notes on everything in class, you can follow along on the printed Lectures, making extra notes.

Exam Page: Will have exams & solutions. There will be 2 exams: a Midterm & a Final. These will have in class portions with several qualitative questions aimed at evaluating the students’ grasp of the physics & identification of the most relevant physical processes. They may also have take home portions with problems to assess student progress in using relevant mathematical tools.

Homework Page: Will have homework assignments & solutions. Problems will be assigned & graded on a regular basis. Some, but not all, of the problems will come from the book by Kittel &/or the supplemental textbooks. Doing problems is the most effective means of learning physics, which is impossible otherwise!!! Homework is due at 5pm on the due date. To keep up, do the assignments as soon as the material is covered. If you wait too late, you likely will run into trouble! 
No late homework will be accepted!!
You are strongly encouraged to form groups to work on homework & study together!
This is how physicists work in real situations!
NO CONSULTATION with people who had this course previously is allowed! NO use of problem solutions posted in previous years is allowed! This is on the honor system! It will do you no good to merely copy old solutions! Copying solutions will NOT teach you physics! 

Semester Project
Library Research Paper and Presentation: Only for Graduate Students in Physics 5304. Should be on an advanced topic or application of solid state physics that we don't have time for in class. The paper is due near the end of the semester. Oral presentations on the same subject will take place then. The paper should be 5-10 typed pages & written in the style of a scientific paper, with all (several) sources properly cited. The presentation should be about  0.5 hour long. It can be (but needn't be!) done in Power Point.
You should have the topic picked by mid-semester!!!
Topics must be approved by me before you begin!!

Miscellaneous Topics
1. Dr. Myles: Do you want to know more about him (education, experience, research, personal, etc.)? See his Homepage & Research Page. A page about his Future Teaching is Here.
2. Physics Contributions of 20th Century Women! Did you ever wonder why there aren't more women physicists? Actually, a number of women made very important contributions to many areas of physics in the 1900's. Here is a website which discusses this in detail! 
3. Some Solid State (& Semiconductor) Physics Pioneers Web Pages: 
     I. Nobel Prize in Physics, 1956 for the invention of the transistor!
        a. John Bardeen, Bardeen Tribute
        b. Walter Brattain, Brattain Tribute 
        c. William Shockley, Shockley Tribute, Shockley Wierdness
     II.  Nobel Prize in Physics, 2000 for the invention of the integrated circuit!
        a. Zhores I. Alferov, Alferov Tribute
        b. Jack S. Kilby, Kilby Tribute 
        c. Herbert Kroemer, Kroemer Tribute
4. Click Here for a link to solid state physics java applets. These are interactive animations which can teach you some basics about solid state physics. 
5. Click Here for a link to the "Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics" (no kidding!).
6. Physics News:  a. Physics Central (for the public). b. Focus News (advanced level) from the APS.
8. Click Here to see the Top 10 most influential people of the last 1,000 years. 4 of them made contributions to physics! (From Dr. Tom Gibson!).
9. Click Here to see that Physics can be Fun!

WY Physics Logo The WORLD YEAR OF PHYSICS 2005 marked 100 years since Albert Einstein published 3 pioneering papers (Relativity, Brownian Motion, Photoelectric Effect), which changed physics forever & are considered the beginning of "modern" physics! The United Nations, the US Congress, & the governments & scientific societies of many countries endorsed it. For more information, click the image on the left.

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