PHZ 6426 - SOLID STATE PHYSICS I - FALL 2007
COORDINATES
Time and Place: MWF 5th Period (11:45a-12.45p) 1011 NPB
Text: Solid State Physics by N.W.Ashcroft and N.D.Mermin (Brooks/Cole, 1976)
Instructor: Prof. Hendrik J. Monkhorst
E-mail:henk@ufl.edu
Office: 2320 NPB
Phone: 392-6975
Office hours: TF 1:00-2:00p
COURSE SYNOPSIS
This is an introductory course on the basic concepts, principles and formal, as well as practical theory of solid-state physics. Although there is some numerical work involved, the bulk of the course will deal with deriving and manipulating formulas central to this subject. It is intended for students working in condensed matter physics and for all those who wish to gain a background knowledge of this subject. Indeed, all condensed-matter physicists, whether they consider themselves experimentalists or theorists, should master the material covered in this course.PREREQUISITES
Minimum prerequisites include knowledge of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics and electrodynamics at least at the one-semester level. Some background to these topics may be covered, but then only superficially.COURSE MATERIAL
The lectures will closely follow the text Solid State Physics by Ashcroft and Mermin, but digressions can occur. Additional books or articles are listed in Supplementary Material, useful for background. However, we will not rely on this stuff to add to the course content. The text contains 34 Chapters, and 16 Appendices. In no way will we cover all of this. In fact, we will be lucky if we can properly cover the first 23 Chapters, and some of those will be touched on only lightly. Much of the remaining material, and then some, can be encountered in “Solid State Physics II” (PHZ 7427).In the course of this semester various announcements will be made which material in the textbook’s first 23 Chapters will NOT be covered. This information will be given in class and in the link News Page. If no announcement about coverage of any Chapter is made, full inclusion for study towards midterms and final exam is expected.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
There will be some 10 homework assignments, drawn from various textbook problems following the Chapters. Their schedule and selections are posted under the link Homework Assignments. Their due dates are also indicated, and these will be strictly enforced.EXAMS
There will be two midterms and one final exam. Midterms are in-class exams. These are posted under the Course Schedule link. NO MAKEUP EXAMS are given, unless very serious circumstances intervene to meet the exam date and time. See the Instructor if that occurs.RESEARCH PAPER
A research paper is expected near the end of the semester (see Course Schedule). The topic (or individual project) should be cleared with the Instructor, and have a length of ten-to-fifteen pages. It should include an Abstract, main text, figures and references. For help in organizing and writing a scientific paper, go to John Wilkins’ (Ohio State University) Course Page Writing and speaking about physics and astronomy.ADDITIONAL NOTES
Attendance will not be monitored. However, exam questions will come from topics discussed in class.Student with disabilities and requesting classroom accommodations must first register with the Dean of Students Office. This Dean will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.