Band structure of energy levels in solids
Channel: Brant Carlson
Date: 2013-05-15

Improving on the free electron gas treatment of electrons in solids by including a periodic array of atoms leads to a Schrodinger equation that can be solved with Bloch's theorem and boundary condition matching to give band structure in the energy levels.  These bands provide a good explanation of the difference between insulators, conductors, and semiconductors, and can help explain how the electrical conductivity of a material changes with temperature.  (This lecture is part of a series for a course based on Griffiths' Introduction to Quantum Mechanics.  The Full playlist is at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL65jGfVh1ilueHVVsuCxNXoxrLI3OZAPI.)