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7th Annual Solid State Day to Commence February 2007
"All are welcome to join the celebration of crystals!!!"
BYE BYE.
The framework of most solid state physics theory is the Schrodinger wave formulation of non-relativistic quantum mechanics, where Bloch's Theorem, which characterizes the electronic wavefunctions in a periodic potential, is an important starting point for much analysis. Since Bloch's Theorem applies only to periodic potentials, and since a number of conditions disrupt this periodicity (viz. unceasing random movements of atoms, impurities, point defects, dislocations, and surface / interface considerations), Bloch's Theorem is only an approximation. Nonetheless, it has proven to be a tremendously valuable approximation, without which most solid state physics analysis would be intractable and Solid State Day impossible. As you might suspect, deviations from periodicity are treated by quantum mechanical perturbation theory. |
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