Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions PROBLEMS anp SOLUTIONS on SOLID STATE PHYSICS, RELATIVITY AND MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS Compiled by: The Physics Coaching Class University of Science and Technology of China Refereed by: Zhang Jia-li, Zhou You-yuan & Zhang Shi-ling Edited by: Lim Yung-kuo Ve World Scientific New Jersey « London + Singapore * Hong KongPublished by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd 5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224 USA office’ Suite 202, 1060 Maun Street, River Edge, NJ 07661 UK office. 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. First published 1995 Reprinted 2001, 2003 Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ON SOLID STATE PHYSICS, RELATIVITY AND MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS Copyright © 1995 by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte, Ltd. All rights reserved This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc , 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher ISBN 981-02-1892-3 981-02-1893-1 (pbk) Printed in Singapore by Multiprint ServicesPREFACE This series of physics problems and solutions, which consists of seven volumes — Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Optics, Atomic, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics, Quantum Me- chanics, Solid State Physics and Relativity, contains a selection of 2550 problems from the graduate school entrance and qualifying examination papers of seven U.S. universities — California University Berkeley Campus, Columbia University, Chicago University, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, New York State University Buffalo Campus, Princeton University, Wisconsin University — as well as the CUSPEA and C. C. Ting’s papers for selection of Chinese students for further studies in U.S.A. and their solutions which represent the effort of more than 70 Chinese physicists plus some 20 more who checked the solutions. The series is remarkable for its comprehensive coverage. In each area the problems span a wide spectrum of topics while many problems overlap several areas. The problems themselves are remarkable for their versatil- ity in applying the physical laws and principles, their uptodate realistic situations, and their scanty demand on mathematical skills. Many of the problems involve order of magnitude calculations which one often requires in an experimental situation for estimating a quantity from a simple model. In short, the exercises blend together the objectives of enhancement of one’s understanding of the physical principles and ability of practical application. The solutions as presented generally just provide a guidance to solving the problems, rather than step by step manipulation, and leave much to the students to work out for themselves, of whom much is demanded of the basic knowledge in physics. Thus the series would provide an invaluable complement to the textbooks. The present volume, under the title “Solid State Physics, Relativity and Miscellaneous Topics” consists of 165 problems. Both special and general relativity problems are included, although some other special rela- tivity problems have been solved elsewhere, particularly in the volumes on Mechanics and on Electromagnetism. Problems that are not appropriate for