Solid-state physics

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Solid-state physics

Solid-state physics, the largest branch of condensed matter physics

Condensed matter physics

Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter. In particular, it is concerned with the "condensed" phase that appear whenever the number of constituents in a system is extremely large and the interactions between the constituents are strong....
, is the study of rigid matter

Matter

In common usage, matter is anything that has both mass and volume . A more rigorous definition is used in science: matter is what atoms and molecules are made of....
, or solid

Solid

A solid object is in the states of matter characterized by resistance to deformation and changes of volume. In other words, it has high values both of Young's modulus and of shear modulus; this contrasts e.g....
s, through methods such as quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the microscopic scale . Notable amongst these principles are both a dual wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation, and prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certaintie...
, crystallography

Crystallography

Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in solids. In older usage, it is the scientific study of crystals....
, electromagnetism

Electromagnetism

Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field, a field which exerts a force on Elementary particles with the property of electric charge and which is reciprocally affected by the presence and motion of such particles....
and metallurgy

Metallurgy

Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic Chemical element, their intermetallics, and their mixtures, which are called alloys....
. Solid-state physics considers how the large-scale properties of solid materials result from their atom

Atom

|-! bgcolor=gray | Properties|-||}The atom is a basic unit of matter consisting of a dense, central atomic nucleus surrounded by a electron cloud of electric charge electrons....
ic-scale properties. Solid-state physics thus forms the theoretical basis of materials science

Materials science

Materials science or materials engineering is an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of matter and its applications to various areas of science and engineering....
, as well as having direct applications, for example in the technology of transistor

Transistor

In electronics, a transistor is a semiconductor device commonly used to Electronic amplifier or switch Electronics signals. A transistor is made of a solid piece of a semiconductor material, with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit....
s and semiconductor

Semiconductor

A semiconductor is a material that has electrical conductivity between those of a Electrical conductor and an electrical insulation; it can vary over that wide range either permanently or dynamically....
s.

d materials are formed from densely-packed atoms, with intense interaction forces between them.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Solid-state physics'

Start a new discussion about 'Solid-state physics'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Solid-state physics, the largest branch of condensed matter physics

Condensed matter physics

Matter

In common usage, matter is anything that has both mass and volume . A more rigorous definition is used in science: matter is what atoms and molecules are made of....
, or solid

Solid

Quantum mechanics

Crystallography

Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in solids. In older usage, it is the scientific study of crystals....
, electromagnetism

Electromagnetism

Metallurgy

Atom

Materials science

Transistor

Semiconductor

Introduction

Solid materials are formed from densely-packed atoms, with intense interaction forces between them. These interactions are responsible for the mechanical (e.g. hardness and elasticity

Elasticity (physics)

In physics, elasticity is the physical property of a material when it deforms under stress , but returns to its original shape when the stress is removed....
), thermal

Heat conduction

Heat conduction or thermal conduction is the spontaneous heat transfer through matter, from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature, and acts to equalize temperature differences....
, electrical

Electrical conduction

Electrical conduction is the movement of electric charge particles through a transmission medium . The movement of charge constitutes an Current ....
, magnetic

Magnetism

In physics, magnetism is one of the phenomena by which materials exert attractive or repulsive forces on other materials. Some well-known materials that exhibit easily detectable magnetic properties are nickel, iron, cobalt, and their alloys; however, all materials are influenced to greater or lesser degree by the presence of a magnetic fiel...
and optical

Crystal optics

Crystal optics is the branch of optics that describes the behaviour of light in anisotropic media, that is, media in which light behaves differently depending on which direction the light is propagating....
properties of solids. Depending on the material involved and the conditions in which it was formed, the atoms may be arranged in a regular, geometric pattern (crystalline solids

Crystal

A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions....
, which include metal

Metal

In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
s and ordinary water ice

Ice

Ice is a solid phases of matter, usually crystalline solid, of a non-metallic substance that is liquid or gas at room temperature, such as ammonia ice or methane ice....
) or irregularly (an amorphous solid

Amorphous solid

An amorphous solid is a solid in which there is no long-range order of the positions of the atoms. . Most classes of solid materials can be found or prepared in an amorphous form....
such as common window glass

Glass

Glass generally refers to a Hardness, brittle, transparency amorphous solid, such as that used for windows, many Glass Bottles, or eyewear, including, but not limited to, soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, acrylic glass, sugar glass, Muscovite , or aluminium oxynitride....
).

The bulk of solid-state physics theory and research is focused on crystal

Crystal

Periodicity

Periodicity is the quality of occurring at regular intervals or periods and can occur in different contexts:In timing devices:* A clock marks time at periodic intervals....
of atom

Atom

|-! bgcolor=gray | Properties|-||}The atom is a basic unit of matter consisting of a dense, central atomic nucleus surrounded by a electron cloud of electric charge electrons....
s in a crystal — its defining characteristic — facilitates mathematical modeling, and also because crystalline materials often have electrical

Electrical engineering

Electrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism....
, magnetic

Magnetism

Optics

Optics is the study of the behavior and properties of light including its optical phenomena with matter and its imaging by optical instruments....
, or mechanical

Mechanical engineering

Mechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of physics#branches of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of machine....
properties that can be exploited for engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying Technology and science knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and process that safely realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria....
purposes.

The forces between the atoms in a crystal can take a variety of forms. For example, in a crystal of sodium chloride

Sodium chloride

Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula SodiumChlorine....
(common salt), the crystal is made up of ion

Ion

An ion is an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more electrons, giving it a positive or negative electrical charge. According to the Bohr_model this will be from or in the outer shield 'n'....
ic sodium

Sodium

Sodium is an element which has the symbol Na , atomic number 11, atomic mass 23 amu , and a common oxidation number +1. Sodium is a soft, silvery white, highly reactive element and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" ....
and chlorine

Chlorine

Chlorine...
, and held together with ionic bond

Ionic bond

An ionic bond is a type of chemical bond that involves a metal and a non-metal ions through electrostatic attraction. In short, it is a bond formed by the attraction between two oppositely charged ions....
s. In others, the atoms share electron

Electron

The electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge. It has elementary particle and is believed to be a point particle....
s and form covalent bond

Covalent bond

A covalent bond is a form of chemical bonding that is characterized by the sharing of pairs of electrons between atoms, or between atoms and other covalent bonds....
s. In metals, electrons are shared amongst the whole crystal in metallic bond

Metallic bond

Metallic bonding is the electromagnetic interaction between delocalized electrons, called conduction electrons, and the metallic nuclei within metals....
ing. Finally, the noble gases do not undergo any of these types of bonding. In solid form, the noble gases are held together with van der Waals force

Van der Waals force

In physical chemistry, the van der Waals force , named after The Netherlands scientist Johannes Diderik van der Waals, is the attractive or repulsive force between molecules other than those due to covalent bonds or to the electrostatic interaction of ions with one another or with neutral molecules....
s resulting from the polarisation of the electronic charge cloud on each atom. The differences between the types of solid result from the differences between their bonding.

Solid-state physics

Introduction

Crystal structure and properties