Introduction to Solid State Physics

Faculty: Dr. Amit Roy

Office:111A40 SJT, VIT Vellore
Semester: Fall 2023-24
Course Code: PHY6001
Course Title: Introduction to Solid State Physics.
Course credit: 4 (= 3+1) (including J-component)
Total Lecture Hours: 45
Email: amit.roy@vit.ac.in

References:
1. C.Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, John
Wiley & Sons. 8th Edition 2004.
2. W. Ashcroft, N. David Mermin, Solid State Physics-
Neil, Cornell University, Dan Wei., Holt, Rinehart, and
Winston. 3rd Edition 2016.
3. Steven H. Simon, The Oxford Solid State Basics,
University of Oxford.
4. M. A. Wahab, Solid State Physics, Narosa Publishing
House. India 3rd Edition 2015.
5. NPTEL courses.

Introduction:

Solid State Physics: A biggest single subfield of

condensed matter physics known as "solid state
physics." Its study of matter in its solid state (as
compared to being in a liquid state, a gas state, a
superfluid state, or some other state of matter).

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" phases that appear whenever the
number of constituents in a system is extremely large,
and the interactions between the constituents are
strong. It seeks to use the well-established laws of
microscopic physics to predict the collective
properties of very large numbers of electrons, atoms
or molecules. The most familiar examples of condensed
phases are solids and liquids, which arise from the
electromagnetic forces between atoms.

Why the condensed matter physics or solid state physics

is important?

• Because it is the world around us: Almost all of

the physical world we see is condensed matter. It
provides an opportunity to answer the question of
why metals are shiny and why they feel cold ?. Why
is glass transparent? Why is water a fluid, and
why does fluid feel wet? Why is rubber soft and
stretchy?, etc.
• Because it is useful: How our understanding of
solids enabled new inventions exploiting
semiconductor technology, which enabled the
electronics industry, which enabled computers,
iPhones, and everything else we now take for
granted.
• Because it is deep: Higgs boson (CERN) "Anderson–
Higgs" mechanism,; The ideas of the
renormalization group (Nobel Prize to Kenneth
Wilson in 1982) were developed simultaneously in
both high-energy and condensed matter physics.
• Because reductionism doesn't work: Reductionism
(top to down: Solid to particles) will not tell
you anything about why water is wet, why protons
and neutrons bind to form nuclei, why the atoms
bind to form water, and so forth. We understand
the microscopic theory of a system very well, but
then we discover that macroscopic properties
emerge from the system we did not expect.
• Because it is a laboratory: Condensed matter is an
infinitely varied playground for physicists to
test strange quantum and statistical effects.
In Physics in general:

-Symmetry:
In physics, a symmetry of a physical system is a
physical or mathematical feature of the system
(observed or intrinsic) that is preserved or
remains unchanged under some transformation.
Symmetries lie at the heart of the laws of nature.
Universal laws are symmetric under translation in
space and time — they don't change from place to
place or from today to tomorrow.

• Spatial translation: These spatial symmetries are

represented by transformations of the
form r→ → r→ + a→ and describe those situations where a
property of the system does not change with a continuous
change in location. For example, the temperature in a room
may be independent of where the thermometer is located in
the room.
• Time translation: A physical system may have the same
features over a certain interval of time Δt; this is
expressed mathematically as invariance under the
transformation t → t + a for
any real parameters t and t +a in the interval. For
example, in classical mechanics, a particle solely acted
upon by gravity will have gravitational potential
energy mgh when suspended from a height h above the Earth's
surface. Assuming no change in the height of the particle,
this will be the total gravitational potential energy of
the particle at all times. In other words, by considering
the state of the particle at some time t0 and also
at t0 + a, the particle's total gravitational potential
energy will be preserved.
• Noether's theorem: The theorem states that each continuous
symmetry of a physical system implies that some physical
property of that system is conserved. Conversely, each
conserved quantity has a corresponding symmetry. For
example, spatial translation symmetry (i.e. homogeneity of
space) gives rise to conservation of (linear) momentum, and
temporal translation symmetry (i.e. homogeneity of time)
gives rise to conservation of energy.
-Scales: length, energy & time
In considering any phenomena in condensed matter
it is important to have good estimates (at least
within an order of magnitude) of the different
energy scales associated with different
interactions and effects.
• The universe is quantum on small scales.
• The fundamental forces vary differently with distance.
• The surface area to volume ratio of an object changes
as you change the scale.
The picture below shows, in a unified way, a selection of
energy and length scales in fields across all of
physics. Note that energy scales decrease as length scales
increase: this is because of the quantum-mechanical
relation ℓ=ℏc/E between a length scale ℓ and an energy
scale E. Here ℏ is Planck's constant and c is the speed of
light. A useful approximate value is ℏc=200MeVfm. One
intuitive translation of the formula ℓ=ℏc/E is that a
particle with rest energy E can't be confined to a region of
space whose diameter is significantly less than ℓ. If you
try, then there is enough uncertainty in energy and momentum
to create particle-anti-particle pairs that tend to escape
the spatial region to which you're trying to confine the
original particle.

-Degree of freedom:
• In physics, a degree of freedom is an
independent physical parameter in the formal
description of the state of a physical system.
The set of all states of a system is known as
the system's phase space, and the degrees of
freedom of the system are the dimensions of
the phase space.
• The minimum number of independent coordinates
needed to specify the position and
 configuration of a thermo-dynamical system in
space is called the degree of freedom of the
system.
• Considering the situation that there are
several gas molecules (A) in a container.
Then, the gross total of degrees of freedom is
given by N or f = 3A. However, if we consider R
number of constraints restricting the molecules from
moving freely, then the degrees of freedom decrease
(due to restriction being an opposing force), and it
is now given by,N or f = 3A – R.

Physics is the describing phenomenon at some scale

& at that scale, choosing the degree of freedom. This
scale can be length, time, or energy scale. They are
often related. When we wish to describe something, we
already assume what scale we are probing.
Therefore the real physics question when we wish to
understand anything is to identify the right scale &
the degree of freedom.

Please Read:
1. More Is Different, P. W. Anderson, Science, New Series,
Vol. 177, No. 4047. (Aug. 4, 1972), pp. 393-396.
https://cse-
robotics.engr.tamu.edu/dshell/cs689/papers/anderson72more
_is_different.pdf
2. Feynman lectures: Symmetry in Physical Laws
https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/I_52.html

Fun Assignment:
• After the class, please close your eyes when you go to your
room. Go around in your room, and pick up ten random
objects. Without seeing them, try to identify each of them.
Try to focus on their non-visual properties for e.g. , how
do they feel (rough/soft), how do they sound (if you drop
them) or hit them with something else; are they warm/cold?

• Please open your eyes. Make a list of items (0-9) you have
collected. Please mention the properties you noticed
previously. Are you able to bend them (yes/no), if yes, it
is easy or hard? Notice their optical properties. Check its
color, see if it shines? Is it translucent? Please mention
all the properties (think of new ones which have not been
mentioned) and write them against every item.
• Please check the last digit of the phone number of the last
person you spoke to on the phone. Call that number x. Choose
item no. x on your list, explain its properties with
whatever physics you know. (Don't google, but do discuss
with friends at the dining table.) Please submit the
assignment(mention your registration number)in next class.