Thermodynamics of Crystals

This book is intended to provide the basic theory for a definite area of solid state physics, namely the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of perfect crystals. In outline, the theory begins by describing the crystal as a collection of interacting ions and electrons, then finds the quantum energy levels for such a model crystal, and finally proceeds via statistical mechanics to describe the observable properties of the crystal. Even within such a limited scope, there are still a number of topics which are not treated here. In particular the theory is formulated for any type of crystal in the presence of any externally applied homogeneous stress; interactions with externally applied electric and magnetic fields are not treated, however, and the theory does not cover piezoelectric and magnetostrictive effects, magnetic contributions to the thermodynamic functions, and so on. The material which is covered is self-contained; i.e., the necessary derivations are carried out from the level of the basic definitions, and only a modest background in quantum mechanics and solid state physics is required.