''Solid State Physics'', better known by its colloquial name ''Ashcroft and Mermin'', is an introductory
condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the sub ...
textbook written by
Neil Ashcroft
Neil William Ashcroft (27 November 1938 – 15 March 2021) was a British solid-state physicist.
Early life and education
Ashcroft was born in London on 27 November 1938, and migrated to New Zealand in 1947. He was educated at Hutt Valley High Sc ...
and
N. David Mermin
Nathaniel David Mermin (; born 30 March 1935) is a solid-state physicist at Cornell University best known for the eponymous Mermin–Wagner theorem, his application of the term " boojum" to superfluidity, his textbook with Neil Ashcroft on sol ...
.
Published in 1976 by
Saunders College Publishing
Saunders is an American academic publisher based in the United States. It is currently an imprint of Elsevier.
Formerly independent, the W. B. Saunders company was acquired by CBS in 1968, who added it to their publishing division Holt, Rinehar ...
and designed by Scott Olelius, the book has been translated into over half a dozen languages and it and its competitor, ''
Introduction to Solid State Physics
''Introduction to Solid State Physics'', known colloquially as ''Kittel'', is a classic condensed matter physics textbook written by American physicist Charles Kittel in 1953. The book has been highly influential and has seen widespread adoption ...
'' (often shortened to ''Kittel''), are considered the standard introductory textbooks of condensed matter physics.
Content
# The Drude Theory of Metals
# The Sommerfeld Theory of Metals
# Failures of the Free Electron Model
# Crystal Lattices
# The Reciprocal lattice
# Determination of Crystal Structures by X-Ray Diffraction
# Classification of Bravais Lattices and Crystal Structures
# Electron Levels in a Periodic Potential: General Properties
# Electrons in a Weak Periodic Potential
# The Tight-Binding Method
# Other Methods for Calculating Band Structure
# The Semiclassical Model of Electron Dynamics
# The Semiclassical Theory of Conduction in Metals
# Measuring the Fermi Surface
# Band Structure of Selected Metals
# Beyond the Relaxation-Time Approximation
# Beyond the Independent Electron Approximation
# Surface Effects
# Classification of Solids
# Cohesive Energy
# Failures of the Static Lattice Model
# Classical Theory of the Harmonic Crystal
# Quantum Theory of the Harmonic Crystal
# Measuring Phonon Dispersion Relations
# Anharmonic Effects in Crystals
# Phonons in Metals
# Dielectric Properties of Insulators
# Homogeneous Semiconductors
# Inhomogeneous Semiconductors
# Defects in Crystals
# Diamagnetism and Paramagnetism
# Electron Interactions and Magnetic Structure
# Magnetic Ordering
# Superconductivity
Reception
The book has been reviewed several times and has been recommended in many other works. In a review of another work by the ''
MRS Bulletin
''MRS Bulletin'' is published by the Materials Research Society in partnership with Springer Nature. It was established in 1974 as the ''MRS Newsletter''. There was a year gap in 1981, and then in 1982, it came back as ''MRS Bulletin''.
The cur ...
'' in 2011, the book was said to be "the indispensable work on electronic systems for experimental condensed matter physicists", due largely to the book's "lucidity and panache". The book is also recommended in other textbooks on condensed matter physics, including ''The Solid State'' by
Harold Max Rosenberg
Harold Max Rosenberg (26 August 1922 – 21 November 1993), was a distinguished experimental physicist who is notable for two successful textbooks: ''Low Temperature Solid State Physics'' (1963) and ''The Solid State'' (1975) and over one hundred ...
in 1979, where it is called a "detailed, higher-level, modern treatment." The textbook ''Solid-State Physics for Electronics'' by Andre Moliton states in the foreword that the book aims to prepare students to "use by him- or herself the classic works of taught solid state physics, for example, those of Kittel and Ashcroft and Mermin." Along with ''Kittel'', the textbook ''Introduction to Solid State Physics and Crystalline Nanostructures'' by Giuseppe Iadonisi, Giovanni Cantele, and Maria Luisa Chiofalo included the book in the "Acknowledgements" section as "special mentions". It is also called one of the standard textbooks of solid state physics in the textbook ''Polarized Electrons In Surface Physics''. In a 2003 article detailing Mermin's contributions to solid state physics, the book was said to be "an extraordinarily readable textbook of the subject, which introduced a whole generation of solid state specialists to a subtle and elegant way of doing theoretical physics." The book, along with ''Kittel'' is also used as a benchmark for other books on solid-state physics; the publisher's description for the book ''Advanced Solid State Physics'' by
Philip Phillips that was supplied to the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
for its bibliography entry states: "This is a modern book in solid state physics that should be accessible to anyone who has a working level of solid state physics at the Kittel or Ashcroft/Mermin level."
Reviews
The book received several reviews, including published articles in ''
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
'',
''
Physics Today
''Physics Today'' is the membership magazine of the American Institute of Physics. First published in May 1948, it is issued on a monthly schedule, and is provided to the members of ten physics societies, including the American Physical Society. I ...
'',
and ''
Physics Bulletin''
in 1977. It was also reviewed in German.
''Impressionism, Realism, and the aging of Ashcroft and Mermin''
In July 2013, José Menéndez, a physics professor at the
Arizona State University Tempe campus
Arizona State University Tempe campus is the main campus of Arizona State University, and the largest of the five campuses that comprise the university. The campus lies in the heart of Tempe, Arizona, about eight miles (13 km) east of down ...
published an article titled "Impressionism, Realism, and the aging of Ashcroft and Mermin" in ''
Physics Today
''Physics Today'' is the membership magazine of the American Institute of Physics. First published in May 1948, it is issued on a monthly schedule, and is provided to the members of ten physics societies, including the American Physical Society. I ...
'' that stated: "It is undoubtedly one of the best physics books ever written, but it is not aging well".
Both Ashcroft
and Mermin
wrote separate responses that were published in the same issue, addressing Menéndez's concerns. In his reply, Ashcroft wrote: "Over the years many readers have remarked that the initial edition of our book should 'not be touched'; it is just right in its treatments of the fundamentals."
He then went on to say that writing a sequel "encompassing the many advances in condensed-matter physics that have occurred over the past 38 years" could be an option, but pointed to the fact that the book was translated into French, German, and Portuguese in the previous ten years as evidence that others agree it should be left as is.
Release details
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References
External links
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* {{Cite web, title=Solid State Physics, url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=74009772&searchType=1&permalink=y, access-date=3 December 2020, website=
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, language=en
1976 non-fiction books
Physics textbooks
Condensed matter physics
Harcourt (publisher) books
Henry Holt and Company books