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Nearly-free Electron Model
In solid-state physics, the nearly free electron model (or NFE model) or quasi-free electron model is a quantum mechanical model of physical properties of electrons that can move almost freely through the crystal lattice of a solid. The model is closely related to the more conceptual empty lattice approximation. The model enables understanding and calculation of the electronic band structures, especially of metals. This model is an immediate improvement of the free electron model, in which the metal was considered as a non-interacting electron gas and the ions were neglected completely. Mathematical formulation The nearly free electron model is a modification of the free-electron gas model which includes a ''weak'' periodic perturbation meant to model the interaction between the conduction electrons and the ions in a crystalline solid. This model, like the free-electron model, does not take into account electron–electron interactions; that is, the independent electr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solid-state Physics
Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the large-scale properties of solid materials result from their atomic-scale properties. Thus, solid-state physics forms a theoretical basis of materials science. It also has direct applications, for example in the technology of transistors and semiconductors. Background Solid materials are formed from densely packed atoms, which interact intensely. These interactions produce the mechanical (e.g. hardness and Elasticity (physics), elasticity), Heat conduction, thermal, Electrical conduction, electrical, Magnetism, magnetic and Crystal optics, optical 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 (crystal, crystalline solids, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bloch State
In condensed matter physics, Bloch's theorem states that solutions to the Schrödinger equation in a periodic potential take the form of a plane wave modulated by a periodic function. The theorem is named after the physicist Felix Bloch, who discovered the theorem in 1929. Mathematically, they are written where \mathbf is position, \psi is the wave function, u is a periodic function with the same periodicity as the crystal, the wave vector \mathbf is the crystal momentum vector, e is Euler's number, and i is the imaginary unit. Functions of this form are known as Bloch functions or Bloch states, and serve as a suitable basis for the wave functions or states of electrons in crystalline solids. Named after Swiss physicist Felix Bloch, the description of electrons in terms of Bloch functions, termed Bloch electrons (or less often ''Bloch Waves''), underlies the concept of electronic band structures. These eigenstates are written with subscripts as \psi_, where n is a discr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pauli Exclusion Principle
In quantum mechanics, the Pauli exclusion principle states that two or more identical particles with half-integer spins (i.e. fermions) cannot occupy the same quantum state within a quantum system simultaneously. This principle was formulated by Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli in 1925 for electrons, and later extended to all fermions with his spin–statistics theorem of 1940. In the case of electrons in atoms, it can be stated as follows: it is impossible for two electrons of a poly-electron atom to have the same values of the four quantum numbers: ''n'', the principal quantum number; ', the azimuthal quantum number; ''m'', the magnetic quantum number; and ''ms'', the spin quantum number. For example, if two electrons reside in the same orbital, then their ''n'', ', and ''m'' values are the same; therefore their ''ms'' must be different, and thus the electrons must have opposite half-integer spin projections of 1/2 and −1/2. Particles with an integer spin, or bosons, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wave Vector
In physics, a wave vector (or wavevector) is a vector used in describing a wave, with a typical unit being cycle per metre. It has a magnitude and direction. Its magnitude is the wavenumber of the wave (inversely proportional to the wavelength), and its direction is perpendicular to the wavefront. In isotropic media, this is also the direction of wave propagation. A closely related vector is the angular wave vector (or angular wavevector), with a typical unit being radian per metre. The wave vector and angular wave vector are related by a fixed constant of proportionality, 2π radians per cycle. It is common in several fields of physics to refer to the angular wave vector simply as the ''wave vector'', in contrast to, for example, crystallography. It is also common to use the symbol ''k'' for whichever is in use. In the context of special relativity, ''wave vector'' can refer to a four-vector, in which the (angular) wave vector and (angular) frequency are combined. Def ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Band Gap
In solid-state physics, a band gap, also called an energy gap, is an energy range in a solid where no electronic states can exist. In graphs of the electronic band structure of solids, the band gap generally refers to the energy difference (in electron volts) between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band in insulators and semiconductors. It is the energy required to promote a valence electron bound to an atom to become a conduction electron, which is free to move within the crystal lattice and serve as a charge carrier to conduct electric current. It is closely related to the HOMO/LUMO gap in chemistry. If the valence band is completely full and the conduction band is completely empty, then electrons cannot move within the solid because there are no available states. If the electrons are not free to move within the crystal lattice, then there is no generated current due to no net charge carrier mobility. However, if some electrons transfer from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bragg Plane
In physics, a Bragg plane is a plane in reciprocal space which bisects a reciprocal lattice vector, \scriptstyle \mathbf, at right angles. The Bragg plane is defined as part of the Von Laue condition for diffraction peaks in x-ray diffraction crystallography. Considering the adjacent diagram, the arriving x-ray plane wave is defined by: :e^ = \cos + i\sin Where \scriptstyle \mathbf is the incident wave vector given by: :\mathbf = \frac\hat where \scriptstyle \lambda is the wavelength of the incident photon. While the Bragg formulation assumes a unique choice of direct lattice planes and specular reflection of the incident X-rays, the Von Laue formula only assumes monochromatic light and that each scattering center acts as a source of secondary wavelets as described by the Huygens principle. Each scattered wave contributes to a new plane wave given by: :\mathbf = \frac\hat^\prime The condition for constructive interference in the \scriptstyle \hat^\prime direction is tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brillouin Zone
In mathematics and solid state physics, the first Brillouin zone is a uniquely defined primitive cell in reciprocal space. In the same way the Bravais lattice is divided up into Wigner–Seitz cells in the real lattice, the reciprocal lattice is broken up into Brillouin zones. The boundaries of this cell are given by planes related to points on the reciprocal lattice. The importance of the Brillouin zone stems from the description of waves in a periodic medium given by Bloch's theorem, in which it is found that the solutions can be completely characterized by their behavior in a single Brillouin zone. The first Brillouin zone is the locus of points in reciprocal space that are closer to the origin of the reciprocal lattice than they are to any other reciprocal lattice points (see the derivation of the Wigner–Seitz cell). Another definition is as the set of points in ''k''-space that can be reached from the origin without crossing any Bragg plane. Equivalently, this is the Vor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Degenerate Energy Level
Degeneracy, degenerate, or degeneration may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Degenerate'' (album), a 2010 album by the British band Trigger the Bloodshed * Degenerate art, a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party in Germany to describe modern art ** Decadent movement, often associated with degeneracy * Dégénération, a single by Mylène Farmer * ''Degeneration'' (Nordau), an 1892 book by Max Nordau * '' Resident Evil: Degeneration'', a 2008 film * "Degenerate", a song by Blink-182 from the album '' Dude Ranch'' * "Degenerates", a song by A Day to Remember from the album ''You're Welcome'' Science, mathematics, and medicine Mathematics * Degeneracy (mathematics), a limiting case in which a class of object changes its nature so as to belong to another, usually simpler, class * Degeneracy (graph theory), a measure of the sparseness of a graph * Degeneration (algebraic geometry), the act of taking a limit of a family of varieties * Degenerate form, bilinear form ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reciprocal Lattice
In physics, the reciprocal lattice represents the Fourier transform of another lattice (group) (usually a Bravais lattice). In normal usage, the initial lattice (whose transform is represented by the reciprocal lattice) is a periodic spatial function in real space known as the ''direct lattice''. While the direct lattice exists in real space and is commonly understood to be a physical lattice (such as the lattice of a crystal), the reciprocal lattice exists in the space of spatial frequencies known as reciprocal space or k space, where \mathbf refers to the wavevector. In quantum physics, reciprocal space is closely related to momentum space according to the proportionality \mathbf = \hbar \mathbf, where \mathbf is the momentum vector and \hbar is the Planck constant. The reciprocal lattice of a reciprocal lattice is equivalent to the original direct lattice, because the defining equations are symmetrical with respect to the vectors in real and reciprocal space. Mathematically, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Screening Effect
In physics, screening is the damping of electric fields caused by the presence of mobile charge carriers. It is an important part of the behavior of charge-carrying fluids, such as ionized gases (classical plasmas), electrolytes, and charge carriers in electronic conductors (semiconductors, metals). In a fluid, with a given permittivity , composed of electrically charged constituent particles, each pair of particles (with charges and ) interact through the Coulomb force as \mathbf = \frac\hat, where the vector is the relative position between the charges. This interaction complicates the theoretical treatment of the fluid. For example, a naive quantum mechanical calculation of the ground-state energy density yields infinity, which is unreasonable. The difficulty lies in the fact that even though the Coulomb force diminishes with distance as , the average number of particles at each distance is proportional to , assuming the fluid is fairly isotropic. As a result, a charge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fourier Series
A Fourier series () is a summation of harmonically related sinusoidal functions, also known as components or harmonics. The result of the summation is a periodic function whose functional form is determined by the choices of cycle length (or ''period''), the number of components, and their amplitudes and phase parameters. With appropriate choices, one cycle (or ''period'') of the summation can be made to approximate an arbitrary function in that interval (or the entire function if it too is periodic). The number of components is theoretically infinite, in which case the other parameters can be chosen to cause the series to converge to almost any ''well behaved'' periodic function (see Pathological and Dirichlet–Jordan test). The components of a particular function are determined by ''analysis'' techniques described in this article. Sometimes the components are known first, and the unknown function is ''synthesized'' by a Fourier series. Such is the case of a discrete-ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibbs Paradox
In statistical mechanics, a semi-classical derivation of entropy that does not take into account the indistinguishability of particles yields an expression for entropy which is not extensive (is not proportional to the amount of substance in question). This leads to a paradox known as the Gibbs paradox, after Josiah Willard Gibbs, who proposed this thought experiment in 1874‒1875. The paradox allows for the entropy of closed systems to decrease, violating the second law of thermodynamics. A related paradox is the " mixing paradox". If one takes the perspective that the definition of entropy must be changed so as to ignore particle permutation, in the thermodynamic limit, the paradox is averted. Illustration of the problem Gibbs himself considered the following problem that arises if the ideal gas entropy is not extensive. Reprinted in and in Two identical containers of an ideal gas sit side-by-side. The gas in container #1 is identical in every respect to the gas in co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
