Lecture Notes

• Introduction: Emergence in Condensed Matter

• Atoms as Building Blocks; inter-atomic forces.

• Review: Modern physics (elementary concepts in quantum mechanics).

• Phase Transitions

• Crystalline Solids

This beat-up car certainly does not look nearly as pretty as the "girl's best friend" - the diamond. Under the microscope, however, they both look very similar: both the diamond and the iron are simple crystals: neat periodic arrays of atoms

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• Lattice Properties

• Free Electron Model of Metals

• Band Theory of Solids

• Semiconductors

• Semiconductor Devices

• Superconductivity

• Magnetism

• Beyond solids - soft materials: liquid crystals, polymers, membranes, and more.