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Rating: Summary: Learn more about the book at our WEB site. Review: Look at httpd://buckminster.physics.sunysb.edu/book/book.htm,
the WEB page about the book. You will see the Table of Contents, the Introduction, Example Problems and more.
Rating: Summary: Modern, challenging and interesting Review: One rarely comes across a book, about which one can say without any qualifying adjective, that it is simply great. The book of Mihaly and Martin however does belong in this rarefied category. As anyone teaching solid state physics knows from experience, it is always demanding to find quality examples. The problems in the previous standard books are unfortunately dated, often decades back. In contrast, Mihaly and Martin bring examples from the very latest developments in solid state physics. At the same time they find room for covering the actual workings of such must-know experimental apparatii, as the triple axis spectrometer and the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. It is hard to find books, which adress the theoretical and experimental sides of our discipline with such balance. When the authors cover more conventional topics, like symmetries and band structures, they make them exciting for the student by chosing fascinating applications, for instance lattices of fullerenes instead of sodium. When they cover modern areas, they devote space extensively, very much unlike similar treatises. These include optical properties, correlation effects in infinite and low dimensional models, and phase transitions in electronic systems. The best recommendation goes beyond words; it is reflected in actions: I already adopted the book in my course, and the students cannot get enough of these inventive problems. They actually like solving the homework problems, a true satisfaction for any teacher.
Rating: Summary: Modern, challenging and interesting Review: One rarely comes across a book, about which one can say without any qualifying adjective, that it is simply great. The book of Mihaly and Martin however does belong in this rarefied category. As anyone teaching solid state physics knows from experience, it is always demanding to find quality examples. The problems in the previous standard books are unfortunately dated, often decades back. In contrast, Mihaly and Martin bring examples from the very latest developments in solid state physics. At the same time they find room for covering the actual workings of such must-know experimental apparatii, as the triple axis spectrometer and the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. It is hard to find books, which adress the theoretical and experimental sides of our discipline with such balance. When the authors cover more conventional topics, like symmetries and band structures, they make them exciting for the student by chosing fascinating applications, for instance lattices of fullerenes instead of sodium. When they cover modern areas, they devote space extensively, very much unlike similar treatises. These include optical properties, correlation effects in infinite and low dimensional models, and phase transitions in electronic systems. The best recommendation goes beyond words; it is reflected in actions: I already adopted the book in my course, and the students cannot get enough of these inventive problems. They actually like solving the homework problems, a true satisfaction for any teacher.
Rating: Summary: For those who want to solve a lot of problems in SSP Review: This book compiles a large number of problems in SSP (included solutions to the problems as well). It could certainly be used as a supplement for a first course in SSP very effectively.
Rating: Summary: For those who want to solve a lot of problems in SSP Review: This book compiles a large number of problems in SSP (included solutions to the problems as well). It could certainly be used as a supplement for a first course in SSP very effectively.
Rating: Summary: Standard Problems Presented in a Mediocre Fashion Review: This book offers a nice set of pretty standard undergraduate to first year graduate problems in solid state physics. The answers, unfortunately, are sloppy and remarkably lack the detail you would expect from a question and answer book. Each chapter has a superficial and not too insightful introduction to the topic before asking the questions. Probably, most disappointing are the problems for which there are no answers. Isn't this supposed to be a problem and answer book? If you are looking for an insightful solution guide or a general overview as a companion for an introductory solid state course, you don't want this book. If you just want to see a result and have some stuff to jot down on homework assignments, then perhaps this book is just what you need.
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