Lect 5: Heat capacity and Lattice vibrations

A. Heat Capacity—Einstein Model

B. The Debye Model
C. 1-D Monatomic Lattice
D. Counting Modes and Finding N()
E. 1-D Lattice With Diatomic Basis
F. Phonons and Conservation Laws
G. Dispersion Relations and Brillouin Zones
H. Anharmonic Properties of the Lattice
Having studied the structural arrangements of atoms in
solids, we now turn to properties of solids that arise from
collective vibrations of the atoms about their equilibrium
positions.
For a vibrating atom:
kz
m E1  K  U

ky  12 mvx2  12 mv y2  12 mvz2  12 k x x 2  12 k y y 2  12 k z z 2
kx

Classical statistical mechanics — equipartition theorem: in

thermal equilibrium each quadratic term in the E has an
average energy 12 k BT , so:
E1  6( 12 k BT )  3k BT
 Classical Heat Capacity

For a solid composed of N such atomic E  NE1  3 Nk BT

oscillators:

Giving a total energy per mole E 3 Nk BT

  3N A k BT  3RT
of sample: n n

So the heat capacity at d E

CV     3R  25 molJ K
constant volume per mole is: dT  n V

This law of Dulong and Petit (1819) is

approximately obeyed by most solids at high T
( > 300 K). But by the middle of the 19th
century it was clear that CV  0 as T  0 for
solids.
Variation of Cv with temperature

Dulong-Petit’s
Law
en
r im
p e
ex
t
Heat Capacity—Einstein Model (1907)
Planck (1900): vibrating oscillators (atoms) in a solid have
quantizedEenergies
n  n  n  0, 1, 2, ...

[later QM showed En  n  2  
1
is actually correct]

Einstein (1907): model a solid as a collection of 3N independent 1-D

oscillators, all with constant , and use Planck’s equation for energy
levels
occupation of energy level e  En / kT
f ( En )   classical physics
n: (probability of oscillator
being in level n) n 0
e  En / kT (Boltzmann factor)

Average total   n
E e  En / kT

energy of E  U  3 N  f ( En ) En  3 N n0


solid:
n 0
e
n 0
 E n / kT
 Heat Capacity—Einstein Model contd…


 n e  n / kT

Using Planck’s equation: U  3N n 0 Now let x 
 kT
 e
n 0
 n / kT


d   nx d  x n
ne  nx
Which can  e   e 
dx n 0 dx n 0
U  3 N n 0
 be rewritten: U  3N 
 3 N  

e
n 0
 nx
e
n 0
 nx
 e 
n 0
x n


1 ex
Now we can use


x n

1
for x  1
To give:  e  x n
 
1  ex e x  1
the infinite sum: n 0 1 x n 0

d  ex 
  x 
dx  e  1  3 N 3 N
So we obtain: U  3 N   
 ex  e x  1 e  / kT  1
 x 
 e 1 
 Heat Capacity—Einstein Model contd…

Using our previous d U  d  3 N A  

CV       / kT 
definition: dT  n V dT  e 1

Differentiating: CV 

 3 N A e  / kT    3R   e
 
kT 2
 2
kT
 / kT

e  / kT
 1
2
e  1  / kT 2

Now we define an E 

“Einstein temperature”: k

So we obtain the
CV (T ) 
3R  e
E 2
T
 E /T

equation:
e  E /T
1  2
 Limiting Behavior of CV(T)

High T E
 1 CV (T ) 
3R   1    3R
E 2
T
E
T
limit: T
1   1
E
T
2

Low T limit:
E
 1 CV (T ) 
3R  e
 E 2  E /T
T
 3R  e
E 2  E / T
T
e 
E /T 2 T

3R
CV
These predictions are
qualitatively correct: CV 
3R for large T and CV  0
0 T/E
as T  0:
Heat Capacity—Einstein Model contd…

High T behavior:
Reasonable agreement
with experiment

Low T behavior:
CV  0 FASTER
as T  0 .
 The Debye Model (1912)
Despite its success in reproducing the approach of CV  0
as T  0, the Einstein model is clearly deficient at very low
T. What might be wrong with the assumptions it makes?

• 3N independent oscillators, all with frequency 

• Discrete allowed energies:

En  n n  0, 1, 2, ...
 Details of the Debye Model
Pieter Debye developed a more sophisticated (but still approximate)
treatment of atomic vibrations in solids.
Debye’s model of a solid:
• 3N normal modes (patterns) of oscillations
• Spectrum of frequencies from  = 0 to max
• Treat solid as continuous elastic medium (ignore details of atomic
structure)
 max
CV (T ) 

 N ( ) C
0
E ( , T ) d

This changes the expression for

# of oscillators per Einstein function
CV because each mode of unit  for one oscillator
oscillation contributes a
frequency-dependent heat
capacity and we now have to
integrate over all :
 The Continuous Elastic Solid
We can describe a propagating vibration of amplitude u along a rod of
material with Young’s modulus E and density  with the wave equation:

 2u E  2u
2
 for wave propagation along the x-
t  x 2 direction

By comparison to the general form of the 1-D wave equation:

 2u 2
2  u E So the wave speed is independent of
2
v we find that v wavelength for an elastic medium!
t x 2 

  (k ) is called the
v dispersion relation of
  2f  2  kv
 the solid, and here it is
linear (no dispersion!)
d
group velocity v g  k
dk
 1-D Monatomic Lattice
By contrast to a continuous solid, a real solid is not uniform on an
atomic scale, and thus it will exhibit dispersion. Consider a 1-D chain
of atoms: M
In equilibrium:
s 1 a s s 1 s p

Longitudinal
wave:
u s 1 us u s 1 us  p

p = atom label
For atom s, Fs   c p u s  p  u s  p =  1 nearest neighbors
p
p =  2 next nearest
neighbors
cp = force constant for atom p
 1-D Monatomic Lattice: Equation of Motion
 2u s
Now we use Newton’s second law: Fs  M 2   c p u s  p  u s 
t p

For the expected harmonic

traveling waves, we can write u s  ue i ( kxs t ) xs = sa = position of atom s

Thus: 
Mu (i ) 2 ei ( ksa t )   c p uei ( k ( s  p ) a t )  uei ( ksat ) 
p

Or: 
 M 2e i ( ksa t )  e i ( ksa t )  c p e ikpa  1 
p

So: 
 M 2   c p e ikpa  1  Now since c-p = cp by symmetry,
p

 
 M 2   c p eikpa  e ikpa  2   2c p cos(kpa)  1
p 0 p 0
 1-D Monatomic Lattice: Solution!
2 4
The result is: 2 
M
 c p (1  cos(kpa)) 
p 0 M
 p ( 2 kpa)
c sin
p 0
2 1

The dispersion relation of the monatomic 1-D lattice!

Often it is reasonable to make the 4c1
2
nearest-neighbor approximation (p = 1):   sin 2 ( 12 ka)
M


The result is periodic in k
and the only unique 4c1
M
solutions that are
physically meaningful
correspond to values in
k
the range:  
 k
a a 2   2
  0
a a a a
 Dispersion Relations: Theory vs. Experiment
In a 3-D atomic lattice we
expect to observe 3 different
branches of the dispersion
relation, since there are two
mutually perpendicular
transverse wave patterns in
addition to the longitudinal
pattern we have considered.

Along different directions in

the reciprocal lattice the
shape of the dispersion
relation is different. But
note the resemblance to the
simple 1-D result we found.
 E. Counting Modes and Finding N()

A vibrational mode is a vibration of a given wave vector k (and thus ),
frequency  , and energy 
E   . How many  modes
 are found in the
interval between ( , E , k ) and (  d , E  dE , k  dk ) ?

 3
# modes dN  N ( )d  N ( E )dE  N (k )d k

We will first find N(k) by examining allowed values of k. Then we will be

able to calculate N() and evaluate CV in the Debye model.

First step: simplify problem by using periodic boundary conditions for the
linear chain of atoms:
s+N-1 We assume atoms s
L = Na and s+N have the
same displacement—
s the lattice has periodic
behavior, where N is
s+1 very large.
x = sa x = (s+N)a
s+2
 First: finding N(k)
Since atoms s and s+N have the same displacement, we can write:

us  us  N ue i ( ksa t )  ue i ( k ( s  N ) a t ) 1  eikNa

This sets a condition on 2n

allowed k values: kNa  2n  k n  1, 2, 3, ...
Na

So the separation between 2 2 independent of k, so

k  n  the density of modes
allowed solutions (k values) is: Na Na in k-space is uniform

# of modes 1 Na L
Thus, in 1-D:   
interval of k  space k 2 2
 Next: finding N()
Now for a 3-D lattice we can apply periodic N3c
boundary conditions to a sample of N1 x N2 x N3
atoms:
N 2b
# of modes N a N 2 b N 3c V N 1a
 1  3  N (k )
volume of k  space 2 2 2 8

Now we can write the  V 3

3
differential # of modes as: dN  N ( )d  N (k )d k  3 d k
8

We carry out the integration

in k-space by using a
“volume” element made up
3

d k  ( surface area ) dk   dS dk


of a constant  surface with

thickness dk:
 N() at last!
Rewriting the differential V
3 
dN  N ( )d  dS dk
number of modes in an 8
interval:
V dk V 1
8 3  d 8 3 
We get the N ( )  dS   dS  
result: k

A very similar result holds for N(E) using constant energy surfaces
for the density of electron states in a periodic lattice!

This equation gives the prescription for calculating the density of

modes N() if we know the dispersion relation (k).

We can now set up the Debye’s calculation of the heat capacity of a

solid.
 The Debye Model Calculation

We know that we need to evaluate an upper limit for the heat capacity
integral:  max

CV (T ) 


0
N ( ) C E ( , T ) d

If the dispersion relation is known, the upper limit will be the maximum 
value. But Debye made several simple assumptions, consistent with a
uniform, isotropic, elastic solid:

• 3 independent polarizations (L, T1, T2) with equal propagation speeds vg

• continuous, elastic solid:  = vgk

• max given by the value that gives the correct number of modes
per polarization (N)
 N() in the Debye Model

First we can evaluate v  d V 1 V

3  
N ( )  dS   3
dS
the density of modes:
g
dk 8 v g 8 v g

Since the solid is isotropic, all

directions in k-space are the same,
 
2
so the constant  surface is a k dS  4k
sphere of radius k, and the integral
reduces to:

Giving:
V 2 V 2 for one polarization
N ( )  3 4k 
8 v g 2 2 v g3

Next we need to find the upper limit for the integral over the
allowed range of frequencies.
 max in the Debye Model
 max
Since there are N atoms in the solid, there are N
unique modes of vibration for each polarization.

 N ( )d  N
0
This requires:
 max 3 1/ 3
V Vmax  6 N 
2


2
Giving:  d  2 3  N max  v g    D
2 2 v g3  0
6 v g  V 
The Debye cutoff
frequency
Now the pieces are in place to evaluate the heat capacity using the
Debye model! This is the subject of problem 5.2 in Myers’ book.
Remember that there are three polarizations, so you should add a factor
of 3 in the expression for CV. If you follow the instructions in the
problem, you should obtain:
3  /T And you should evaluate this
 T  D z 4 e z dz
CV (T )  9 Nk B    z
  D  0 (e  1)
2
expression in the limits of low
T (T << D) and high T (T >>
D).
 Debye Model:
Theory vs. Expt.

Better agreement
than Einstein
model at low T

Universal behavior
for all solids!

Debye temperature
is related to
“stiffness” of solid,
as expected
 Debye Model at
low T: Theory vs.
Expt.

Quite an impressive
agreement with
predicted CV  T3
dependence for Ar!
(noble gas solid)
Einstein-Debye Specific Heats
The Einstein-Debye phonon model produced agreement with
the low-temperature cubic dependence of specific heat upon
temperature.
Explaining the drastic departure from the Law of Dulong and
Petit was a major contribution of the
Einstein and Debye models. The final step in explaining the
low temperature specific heats of metals was the inclusion of
the electron contribution to specific heat. When these were
combined, they produced the expression
 1-D Lattice with Diatomic Basis
Consider a linear diatomic chain of atoms (1-D model for a crystal like NaCl):

Lattice Constant, a
In equilibrium:

yn-1 xn yn xn+1
Applying Newton’s second law and the nearest-neighbor approximation to this
system gives a dispersion relation with two “branches”:
d 2 xn
M 1 2  c1  yn  yn 1  2 xn 
dt
d 2 yn
M2 2
 c1 xn 1  xn  2 yn 
dt
1/ 2
 M1  M 2   2  M1  M 2 
2
4c 2 
  c1 
2
  c1    2 1
sin ( 2 ka)
1

 M 1M 2    M 1M 2  M 1M 2 
Chain of two types of atom

• As there are two values of ω for each value of k, the dispersion

relation is said to have two branches;

 Optical Branch
A Upper branch is due to the
B
C +ve sign of the root.

Acoustical Branch
Lower branch is due to the
–л/a 0 л/a 2л/a k -ve sign of the root.

• The dispersion relation is periodic in k with a period 2 π /a

= 2 π /(unit cell length).
• This result remains valid for a chain of containing an arbitrary
number of atoms per unit cell.
 1-D Lattice with Diatomic Basis: Results

-(k)   0 as k  0 acoustic modes (M1 and M2 move in phase)

+(k)   max as k  0 optical modes (M1 and M2 move out of phase)

These two branches may be sketched schematically as follows:


optic +

al gap in allowed + + +
K

frequencies
+

+
acoust k K
+ + +


 0 ic 
+
a a
 1-D Lattice with Diatomic Basis: Results

These two branches may
be sketched schematically gap in allowed frequencies
as follows:

k
 0 

a a

In a real 3-D solid the dispersion relation will differ along different directions in
k-space. In general, for a p atom basis, there are 3 acoustic modes and p-1
groups of 3 optical modes, although for many propagation directions the two
transverse modes (T) are degenerate.
• Optical modes tend to
be of a high frequency
– Einstein model
– Not excited at “low” T
• Acoustic modes vary in freq
frequency from 0 to
max.
– Debye model
– Contribute even at low T
 Diatomic Basis: Experimental Results

The optical modes generally have frequencies near  = 1013 1/s, which
is in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, when IR
radiation is incident upon such a lattice it should be strongly absorbed
in this band of frequencies.

At right is a transmission
spectrum for IR radiation
incident upon a very thin NaCl
film. Note the sharp minimum
in transmission (maximum in
absorption) at a wavelength of
about 61 x 10-4 cm, or 61 x 10-6
m. This corresponds to a
frequency  = 4.9 x 1012 1/s.
If instead we measured this spectrum for
LiCl, we would expect the peak to shift to
higher frequency (lower wavelength)
because MLi < MNa…exactly what
happens!
 Measurement of vibrations in solids
• Infra-red absorption
– Excites optical modes where these give range to a change
in dipole moment
• Inelastic neutron scattering
– Use thermal neutrons
– Undergo energy loss/gain when they are
scattered from a material
– Energy exchange represents the phonon
energy
– More favourable selection rules than IR
absorption
 Thermal conduction

• Metals conduct heat via the conduction electrons,

but some insulators are even better.
• Heat is carried by the phonons, which can travel
unimpeded through a perfect crystal.
• Thermal resistance arises from
– Scattering by imperfections
– Phonon-phonon collisions
• According to simple theory
depends on the
K  1 Cv
– heat capacity. (C)
– phonon velocity. (v)
 3
– phonon mean free path (l)
• At low T, l= const=size of
crystal. So K varies as T3
(debye)
• At hi T, C= constant and l

proportional to no.of
phonons I e 1/T
• Diamond is a very good
thermal conductor because of
a. high sound velocity. b. high
Debye T
 The electronic heat capacity

• Peculiar observation in metals

– Electrical conduction “a free electron gas”
– Heat capacity - very small electronic heat
capacity
• Arises because electrons are too light to
follow Maxwell-Boltzmann laws
• Instead get a Fermi-Dirac distribution
 • At T=0, all the states
up to Ef are full.
• At T>0, only a small
number of electrons
close to Ef can be
excited.

only a fraction of electrons T/Tf take up energy

T •Tf=Ef/k=20,000 K
U thermal  3 2 NkT  (classical energy  fraction)
Tf typically.
C elec 
dU 3RT

T
(exact = 1  2 R ) •So at room T, Celec
v
dT Tf 2 Tf
is about 0.01 of the
expected classical
value
 • At low T, lattice vibrations are small enough
to see the electronic term

Cv  AT 3  BT
Cv 2
 AT  B
T
 H. Phonons and Conservation Laws
Collective motion of atoms = “vibrational u s ( x, t )  uei ( kxs t )
mode”:
Quantum harmonic oscillator: En  n n  0, 1, 2, ...

Energy content of a vibrational mode of frequency  is an integral number

of energy quanta  . We call these quanta “phonons”. While a photon is a
quantized unit of electromagnetic energy, a phonon is a quantized unit of
vibrational (elastic) energy.

Associated with each mode of frequency  is a wavevector k , which leads

to the definition of a “crystal momentum”: k

Crystal momentum is analogous to but not equivalent to linear momentum.

No net mass transport occurs in a propagating lattice vibration, so the linear
momentum is actually zero. But phonons interacting with each other or with
electrons or photons obey a conservation law similar to the conservation of
linear momentum for interacting particles.
 Phonons and Conservation Laws
Lattice vibrations (phonons) of many
different frequencies can interact in a solid. 1  2  3
In all interactions involving phonons, energy    
must be conserved and crystal momentum k1  k 2  k3  G
must be conserved to within a reciprocal
lattice vector: 
1 k1

3 k 3
Schematically:


2 k 2
Compare this to the special case of    Just a special case

elastic scattering of x-rays with a crystal k  k  G of the general
lattice: conservation law!
Photon wave
vectors
 I. Brillouin Zones of the Reciprocal Lattice
Remember the dispersion relation of the 1-D monatomic lattice, which repeats
with period (in k-space) 2 / a :

4c1
M

4 3 2  0  2 3 4
   
a a a a a a a a

1st Brillouin Zone (BZ)

2nd Brillouin Zone

Each BZ contains
identical information
3rd Brillouin Zone about the lattice
 Wigner-Seitz Cell--Construction
For any lattice of points, one way to define a unit cell is to connect each
lattice point to all its neighboring points with a line segment and then
bisect each line segment with a perpendicular plane. The region
bounded by all such planes is called the Wigner-Seitz cell and is a
primitive unit cell for the lattice.

1-D lattice: Wigner-Seitz

cell is the line segment
bounded by the two
dashed planes

2-D lattice: Wigner-Seitz cell

is the shaded rectangle
bounded by the dashed
planes
 1st Brillouin Zone--Definition
The Wigner-Seitz cell can be defined for any kind of lattice (direct or
reciprocal space), but the WS cell of the reciprocal lattice is called the
1st Brillouin Zone.

The 1st BZ is the region in reciprocal space containing

 all information
about the lattice vibrations of the solid. Only the k values in the 1st

BZ correspond to unique vibrational modes. Any k outside this zone is

mathematically equivalent to a value k1 inside the 1st BZ. This is
expressed in terms of a general translation vector of the reciprocal
lattice:

4c1
M

   G
k  k1  G k

4 3 2  0  2 3 4
   
a a a a 
a a a a
k1 
k
 1st Brillouin Zone for 3-D Lattices
For 3-D lattices, the construction of the 1st Brillouin Zone leads to a
polyhedron whose planes bisect the lines connecting a reciprocal lattice point
to its neighboring points. We will see these again!

bcc direct lattice  fcc fcc direct lattice  bcc

reciprocal lattice reciprocal lattice
 Anharmonic Properties of Solids
Two important physical properties that ONLY occur because of
anharmonicity in the potential energy function:

1. Thermal expansion
2. Thermal resistivity (or finite thermal conductivity)

Thermal expansion

In a 1-D lattice where each atom experiences the same potential energy
function U(x), we can calculate the average displacement of an atom
from its T=0 equilibrium position:



U ( x ) / kT
xe dx
x  



U ( x ) / kT
e dx

 I
Thermal Expansion in 1-D
Evaluating this for the harmonic potential energy function U(x) = cx2 gives:

 cx 2 / kT Now examine the numerator
 xe dx
carefully…what can you conclude?
x  

 cx 2 / kT x  0! independent of T !
e

dx

Thus any nonzero <x> must come from terms in U(x)

that go beyond x2.

U ( x)  cx 2  gx 3  fx 4 (c, g , f  0 and gx 3 , fx 4  kT )

Why this form? On the next slide you can see that this function is a reasonable
model for the kind of U(r) we have discussed for molecules and solids.
 Potential Energy of Anharmonic Oscillator
(c = 1 g = c/10 f = c/100)

Do you know what

form to expect for <x>
U = cx2 - gx3 - fx4 U = cx2
based on experiment?
Potenti al Energy U (arb. units)

16

14

12

10

0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Displacement x (arbitrary units)

 Lattice Constant of Ar Crystal vs. Temperature

Above about 40 K, we see: a(T )  a(0)  x  T

Usually we write: L  L0 1   T  T0   = thermal expansion coefficient

 Thermal Conductivity
When thermal energy propagates through a solid, it is carried by lattice
waves or phonons. If the atomic potential energy function is harmonic,
lattice waves obey the superposition principle; that is, they can pass
through each other without affecting each other. In such a case,
propagating lattice waves would never decay, and thermal energy
would be carried with no resistance (infinite conductivity!). So…thermal
resistance has its origins in an anharmonic potential energy.

Classical definition 1
  CV v
of thermal 3
low high T
conductivity
T
CV heat capacity per unit volume
Thermal dT v wave velocity
energy J  
dx  mean free path of
flux scattering (would be  if
(J/m2s) no anharmonicity)
 Temperature-Dependence of 
The low and high T limits are summarized in this table:

CV  
Mean free path Therm. condy
Sp. heat
nph  0, so
low T  T3   , but then  T3
  D (size)

high T 3R  1/T  1/T

How well does this match experimental results?

 Phonon Scattering
There are three basic mechanisms to consider:
1. Impurities or grain boundaries in polycrystalline
sample deviation from
2. Sample boundaries (surfaces) perfect
3. Other phonons (deviation from harmonic crystalline order
behavior)

To understand the experimental dependence (T),

consider limiting values of CV and  since ω does not
vary much with T).

  low T
T 3
low T 1
CV   e  / kT  1 
3R high T n ph high T
kT
• The presence of one phonon causes a periodic elastic
strain which modulates in space and time the elastic
constant (C) of the crystal. A second phonon sees the
modulation of C and is scattered to produce a third
phonon.
• By scattering, two phonons can combine into one, or
one phonon breaks into two. These are inelastic
scattering processes (as in a non-linear spring), as
opposed to the elastic process of a linear spring
(harmonic oscillator).
 Gas:
Elastic collisions.
No T required.
κ=
Gas:
No net mass flow.
Inelastic collisions
with walls sets up T
& n gradients.
Finite κ.
Crystal:
N-processes
only.
κ=.

Crystal:
U-processes.
Finite κ.
Phonon-Phonon Scattering (Normal Process)

Anharmonic Effects: Non-linear spring

K1
K3 = K1+K2

K2 Non-linear Wave Interaction

Because the vectorial addition is the same as

momentum conservation for particles:
Phonon Momentum = K

Momentum Conservation: K3 = K1+ K2

Energy Conservation: w3= w1 + w2

55
 Phonon-Phonon Scattering (Umklapp Process)
K1
What happens if K3   a
K3 = K1+K2

that is outside the first Brillouin Zone

K2

K 3 K3

K1 K2
Then K 3  K 3  G
U-Process
K 3  K1  K 2  G
 3  1   2

The propagating direction is changed.

56
 Phonon Collisions: (N and U Processes)
What if the phonon wavevectors are a bit larger?

2-D lattice  1st BZ in k-space:

   
q1  q2  q3  G

q1
   Two phonons combine to give a net
q3 q1  q2
phonon with an opposite momentum!
2
 This causes resistance to heat flow.
a G
 (U process; phonon momentum “lost” in
q2
2
a units of ħG.)

Umklapp = “flipping over” of

wavevector!  More likely at high T >> D since  and
q will be larger
 Umklapp Processes (anharmonic phonons)

2-D square
lattice

Normal processes: Energy is Umklapp processes:

K1  K 2  K 3 conserved: K1  K 2  K 3  G G0

1
θ: Einstein temp 1  2  3 Conditi K1 , K 2  G
2
on:
T > θ: all modes excited → no distinction between N- & U-
processes → l  1/T.
T < θ: probability of U- processes & hence l 1 exp(–θ /2T).
 Normal Process vs. Umklapp Process
Selection rules:
K1 K2 K3
Normal Process: G =0 Umklapp process:
Ky G = reciprocal lattice vector
= 2/a 0
Ky
K1

K3 K3
K2 Kx K1

K2 Kx
1 Brillouin Zone
st

Cause zero thermal resistance directly

59
Cause thermal resistance
 Characteristic Lengths of Energy Carriers

5
10

PHONON (Si)
ELECTRON (Au)
4 AIR MOLECULE
MEAN FREE PATH (nm)

10
1
k  CvΛ
3
3 μm
10

2
10
Have you heard of
magnons, excitons,
1
10
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 polarons, etc. ?? !!
TEMPERATURE (K)