Solid State Physics – REENCADERNADO

We began this project in 1968 to fill a gap we each felt acutely after several years of teaching introductory solid state physics courses at Cornell. Textbooks of physics, especially in their more specialized branches, are too often merely catalogs of phenomena and formulas, lacking a unifying point of view. This is particularly true of solid state physics. We have attempted to remedy this by starting from some basic physical principles and organizing our material around them.

Rather to our surprise, it has taken us eleven years to produce what we needed: a single, introductory text presenting both aspects of the subject: descriptive and more advanced treatments of selected topics. The book treats the three major forms of crystalline matter, while laying the foundation for a working understanding of the physics through clear, detailed, and elementary treatments of fundamental phenomena.

Our book is designed for introductory courses at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Assumed throughout and the quantum theory that undergraduates are expected to have acquired, and material of the book is presented at the level of an introductory text. We have deliberately included first principles arguments while keeping our discussion at an appropriate level for either introductory or more advanced courses. Chapters dealing with the more advanced chapters and applications of statistical mechanics, we have * Suggestions for how to use the text in courses of varying length and level are given on pp. xvii-xix.