Summary of about 2000 years of Physics Welcome

Summary of about 2000 years of Physics!

Welcome to Physics 4309 Physics 5304 Solid State Physics!!

Class Website! http: //www. phys. ttu. edu/~cmyles/Phys 4309 -5304/4309 5304. html This is UNDERGOING RENOVATION & CONSTRUCTION! There, you will find: 1. Posted (Word format): Syllabus, Help Resources, Semiconductor Resources, Exams & Homework (& solutions). 2. Posted (Power Point format): Some Lectures 3. Important Class Announcements/Calendar Items! 4. Links to Pages for Solid State & Semiconductor Physics 5. Other important items relating to this class. PLEASE!! Get into the habit of checking this page often!

Announcement Page! • Linked from the class Home Page is: The Announcement Page: http: //www. phys. ttu. edu/~cmyles/Phys 4309 -5304/announce. html This will contain class announcements & major calendar items. Please check it often! • You might also want to check out My Web pages: http: //www. phys. ttu. edu/~cmyles/ http: //www. depts. ttu. edu/phas/People/Faculty/bio_myles. php

Class Email Distribution List! • It is VERY important that I have your Up to Date Email Address! • I will use the email distribution list to make important class announcements!!! • PLEASE check your email DAILY!!! • PLEASE tell me if you change your email address!

Homework = 25% of your grade Problems will be assigned regularly!! • May come from our text, the supplements, or elsewhere. • Working problems is the most effective means of learning physics. Homework is due at 5 PM on the due date. NO late homework will be accepted You are strongly encouraged to WORK ON HOMEWORK, IN GROUPS TOGETHER! This is how most scientists & engineers work in the “real” world!

Mid-Term & Final Exams Each exam = 25% of grade Will likely have In Class & Take Home parts: • In Class portion: Mostly qualitative questions that must be answered using words, not math. To assess understanding of physical concepts. • Take Home portion: Problems to assess understanding of mathematical tools.

Semester Project = 25% of grade Oral Presentation + Written Paper • Library Research on an advanced topic or application of solid state physics we don’t have time for in class. Choose Your Topic by Mid-Semester (Oct. 21) Have the topic approved by me before starting. Oral Presentations Will be scheduled during final exam period (Dec. 6 - 11). The Written Paper will also be due at that time.

Where to Go for Help? ? Your Fellow Students!!! A very effective strategy is to work on homework & to study together in a group. This is how professionals work in the “real world”. Me (office hours or not!) The Internet!!! There are LARGE numbers of Solid State Physics websites! Using Google & typing in “Solid State Physics” gives millions of hits!!!! Class Web Page!

To Succeed in this Course • READ the book, which cost you many $$$! It’s most effective to read the material BEFORE I lecture on it! • READ some of the supplementary books or other resources to give you different treatments of the material. • WORK the assigned homework problems!! It is IMPOSSIBLE to learn physics without working problems!

To Succeed in this Course It is IMPOSSIBLE to learn physics without working problems! 1. Copying solutions WON’T teach you physics! 2. Finding problem solutions on the internet, copying them & turning them in as your own work will NOT teach you physics! Either #1 or #2 is CHEATING!! If discovered, it WON’T be tolerated!

To Succeed in this Course COME TO CLASS!! • There is a correlation between attendance & grade! Also, skipping means that you are WASTING the tuition & fees that you paid! With tuition & fees for a full-time student, each class meeting costs about $30. Each time you skip, you are throwing away $30!! After a while this adds up! My lectures may not be entertaining or brilliant, but I do expose you to the material. ATTENDANCE!!!

Books Primary Textbook: Introduction to Solid State Physics, by Charles Kittel, Latest Edition!! • Portions of lectures will be from it. Topics will be discussed in approximately the order as the table of contents. Material from many other sources will also be used. This book has been the standard introductory solid state physics text for 50+years! It's available at bookstores, on-line, in hardbound or paperback. Publisher’s Price = $203. 95 is ABSURD!! Amazon Prices = $170. 48 new, $64, 32 used, $28. 81 rental. I found a pdf version Free on the internet! I urge you to shop around & find the best price Supplements • Optional. Portions of the course will use some information in them. 1. Elementary Solid State Physics: Principles & Applications, M. Ali Omar 2. Solid State Physics, by Neil W. Ashcroft & N. David Mermin.

Course Objective • To expose students to the rich, broad, varied field of SOLID STATE PHYSICS • This ISN'T a semiconductor physics course!! A semiconductor course is Physics 5335, Semiconductor Physics Offered in the fall of even numbered years. • Solid State Physics is about many different kinds of solids. Semiconductors are a special category. We'll discuss the microscopic physics of mostly, CRYSTALLINE solids, including metals, insulators, & semiconductors. This course is complementary to, but it ISN'T a replacement for Physics 5335!!