Phys 155-12!
Welcome to Phys 155, 2012!
Please note that the classroom activity sheets are uploaded along with lecture notes. For these activity sheets for which solutions are not given, please submit your clearly worked-out solutions to me (optional). If your solutions are of sufficiently high quality, I will upload your solutions (and I will jot your name down in my "good-deeds" notepad, which I consult near the end of each course).
The forum site is cleaned up a bit, so that, if you login to this site and then click "Forum" above, you will see only those questions relevant to our course. Use the forum site to ask and discuss any questions related to this course!
Homework 1 – some problems are delayed to homework 2 (due to materials not having been covered yet).
One more change in syllabus: office hours: Mon, Wed 2-3 PM, Wed 10-11 AM – these hours completely supersede whatever we determined tentatively before. — Sam, 5:13PM, Jan 12, 2012
One typo in the syllabus is now corrected: Thursday → Monday (for the final exam date). Thanks, CH!
Welcome to Solid State Physics!
In this course, you will learn both very fundamental and very practical knowledge about how the world around us works. First, about "practical." This is quite obvious. Solid state physics is concerned with magnets, conductors, semiconductors, insulators, superconductors, semi-metals, etc. They are clearly practical stuff, since they permeate to all corners of our materials industry. Second, about "fundamental." This is also quite obvious if you give it a little thoughts. However, some of the fundamental aspect is indeed very deep. Virtually all phenomena in solids are the result of interactions between electrons and photons. This involves quantum mechanics, which is quite fundamental. In particular, one particle in a periodic potential problem -- a rather simple and easy problem -- occupies the heart of solid state physics. However, under this deceivingly simple fundamental problem is hidden another fundamental mechanism at work. Namely virtually all of what happens in solids (and condensed matters in general) is due to the interaction of very (dauntingly) many particles. This is the reason why there are so many phases of matter, with surprising and useful new phases being discovered continually. Interactions are also a key element in truly understanding what we call simple particles in solids -- electron, holes, phonons, etc.
Checking out last year’s course web site might be of some use.