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Study guide: Band Theory of solids (1)
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Sumalay Roy Apr 8

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Dear students,
Click on a group’s star Let us start our discussions on Band theory of solids.
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favorites Some introduction:

Review : Failures of free electron theory

As we have seen earlier in the class that even though there were several successes in Drude theory at that point of time, many
Recently viewed other loopholes were manifested from experiments with metals. This was mainly due to consideration of classical physics in Drude's
MSc PHYS DU-P… theory/model. Later on the problem was dealt from quantum mechanical perspectives mainly by Sommerfield and Fermi. However
even the Sommerfield-Fermi's theory of quantized energy of free electrons could not explain several properties shown by metals
Quantum-Mechan… e.g.,
DU-MscPhy-Batc… 1) Refer to our earlier class on Hall effect. Hall coefficient of Al and many other metals, is a function of magnetic field and
temperature. Depending on these two parameters Hall coefficient can be positive also. Free electron theory could not explain it.
MScPhy-StatMec… [Refer to Ashcroft Mermin Ch-1 : Drude theory - Hall effect , P-15, Figure 1.4 and the table above].
DU-MScPhy-Math… More fundamentally, 2) Free electron theory fails to explain why some solids (Metals) have resistivities as low as 10^(-10) ohm-cm
where as some (insulators) have resistivities as high as 10^(+22) ohm-cm, and some have the resistivities which lies in between
these two extreme order of magnitudes.
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If you recall the discussions on free electron theory in the class, the interaction between the ion cores with the conduction (Free)
electrons were completely ignored and hence we solved Schrodinger equation for free electrons in an infinite potential well.
However it is goes without saying that this is an oversimplified assumption. There must be an interaction potential (eg. Coulomb)
between the flowing electrons and the ion cores. Electrons can't be completely free. Now the question is what is the nature of the
potential an electron faces while flowing through the solids?

Now we know from our discussions on Crystalline solids atoms/ion cores are placed periodically at different lattice sites Therefore

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