Conductors, Semiconductors, Superconductors: An Introduction to Solid State Physics
DOI: 10.1063/PT.3.2787
With its commonplace title, Conductors, Semiconductors, Superconductors: An Introduction to Solid State Physics might appear to be just another introductory text covering this well-established area of contemporary physics. Actually, it is anything but typical.
Written by University of Tübingen professor Rudolf Huebener and originally published in German in 2013, Conductors, Semiconductors, Superconductors aims to generate interest in students and young scientists and to serve, as stated in the preface, “as a motivating pre-stage and companion of the established and very detailed textbooks.” It guides the reader through the major themes of solid-state physics from a historical and human perspective and provides insight into the way the topics were originally understood by early leaders in the field.
Mainstream science textbooks do not usually focus on the human aspects; Huebener’s, by contrast, includes lesser-known details about seminal figures. The result is a technical text interlaced with many historical digressions, including portraits, reproductions of lab notebooks, images of various instruments, and historical illustrations of the described phenomena. Consequently, the book provides a refreshing reminder of why, even in our digital age, good old-fashioned record keeping remains important. The text also notes that many important scientific discoveries were made by young scientists, a fact that should motivate the target audience.
The book’s unique approach makes it a pleasure to read and will inspire readers to want to learn more about its topics—both their science and their history. The impressive list of selected physics and chemistry Nobel Prizes is a nice finishing touch that highlights the importance of the subjects selected for treatment in this relatively concise text.
The author chose to focus on electronic phenomena that, not being amenable to classical-physics descriptions, demonstrate the reality of quantum mechanics. He describes experimentally accessible macroscopic quantum systems, notably superconductors and systems with long-range magnetic order, from the unified point of view of the electronic structure of solids. And he underscores the important roles of the atomic arrangement in the crystal lattice, the nature of the chemical bond, chemical composition, and behavior at the nanometer scale. The discussion is illustrated by examples of milestone advances and inventions, such as the discovery of superconductivity and the invention of x-ray spectroscopy, transistors, solid-state lasers, electron microscopy, and quantum interference devices.
Huebener is known worldwide for his scientific contributions to many of the phenomena he discusses. His book Magnetic Flux Structures in Superconductors (extended reprint, Springer, 2001) is one of the most cited academic works on that topic. I have no doubt that Conductors, Semiconductors, Superconductors, the most recent of his books targeting younger scientists, will be of broad interest to students and researchers in the natural sciences and engineering. It will also nicely complement more advanced but somewhat dry academic texts. I, for one, would be delighted to recommend this book to the students taking my class.
More about the Authors
Ruslan Prozorov is a faculty scientist at the US Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, on the campus of Iowa State University; he also is a physics professor at the university. His areas of expertise include magnetism, superconductivity, and other topics in low-temperature condensed-matter physics.
Ruslan Prozorov. Ames Laboratory, Ames, Iowa.
