Syllabus for PHYS 340-Solid State Physics, Spring ‘08
Basic information:
•Prerequisites: a passing grade in PHYS 212. If you don’t meet this requirement, please
talk to me right away.
•Instructor: Yumi Ijiri
Wright 216
Phone: 775-6484
Email: yumi.ijiri@oberlin.edu
with course information available on Blackboard.
•Class hours and location: MWF 10-10:50 am in Wright 209.
•Problem session: An optional problem session will be held at a time and place to be
determined, probably on Monday.
•Office hours: to be determined based on schedules. Also feel free to just stop by-
Tuesday and Thursday mornings are the best.
•Textbook: The required textbook for this course is Solid State Physics, Second Edition
by Hook and Hall. It is a British text, and not the usual choice, so we’re doing a bit of an
experiment--at least with a cheaper, paperback book. The standard undergraduate text is
Intro to Solid State Physics by Kittel, which almost no one likes!! I’ve placed a number
of other physics books, with their own pros and cons, (by Ashcroft and Mermin,
Blakemore, Christman, and Dalven, etc.) on reserve in the Science Library for you to
refer to as well. As you gather from this, class will be particularly important to flesh out
things, expand beyond or in different ways from the text.
Description:
In this course, we will investigate the structural and physical properties of materials by
developing a better understanding of crystal structure, band theory, and scattering.
Particular attention will be paid to studying the electrical and magnetic behavior of solids.
Objectives: The objectives of the course are three-fold: 1) to increase your
understanding/knowledge about solid state physics or more broadly the physics of
materials 2) to improve your problem solving ability and 3) to develop skills in working
from primary and secondary literature. As you will see, this course will draw on your
knowledge from many of your previous classes!
