Skip to Content
Engineering Physics
book

Engineering Physics

by S. Mani Naidu
October 2009
Intermediate to advanced
503 pages
14h 28m
English
Pearson India
Content preview from Engineering Physics

5.5 Quantum free electron theory of electrical conduction

Sommerfeld (1928) applied the principles of quantum mechanics to classical free electron theory.

According to classical theory, the free electrons in a metal have random motions with equal probability in all directions. But according to quantum theory, the free electrons occupy different energy levels, up to Fermi level at 0 K. So, they possess different energies and hence they possess different velocities. The different velocities of these free electrons of a metal can be seen in velocity space. At 0 K, the electrons present in Fermi level possess maximum velocity, represented as VF . We assume a sphere of radius VF , at the origin of velocity space as shown in Fig. 5.5a. Each point inside ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

Engineering Physics

Engineering Physics

S. Mani Naidu
Applied Physics

Applied Physics

S. Mani Naidu
Engineering Mechanics

Engineering Mechanics

Dwarka Prasad Sharma

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9788131775073