Ashcroft and Mermin
{{short description|Introductory condensed matter physics textbook by Neil Ashcroft and N. David Mermin}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Solid State Physics
| author = Neil Ashcroft and N. David Mermin
| image = File:Ashcroft_and_Mermin_cover.jpg
| caption = Cover of the textbook
| pub_date = 1976
| subject = {{hlist|Condensed matter physics|Solid state physics}}
| language = English
| country = United States
| publisher = Saunders College Publishing
| congress = QC176.A83
| isbn = 0-03-083993-9
| isbn_note = College edition
| oclc = 934604
| dewey = 530.41
| pages = 833
| wikisource =
| website = {{URL|https://www.cengage.com/c/solid-state-physics-1e-ashcroft/9780030839931/}}
| notes =
| illustrator = Eric G. Hieber Associates, Inc.
| editor = Dorothy Garbose Crane
| genre = {{hlist|Non-fiction|Textbook}}
}}
Solid State Physics, better known by its colloquial name Ashcroft and Mermin, is an introductory condensed matter physics textbook written by Neil Ashcroft and N. David Mermin.{{Cite journal|last=Matthews|first=Jermey N. A.|date=26 July 2013|title=A look back at the birth of Ashcroft and Mermin|url=https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.4.2517/abs/|language=EN|journal=Physics Today|issue=7 |page=18388 |doi=10.1063/PT.4.2517|bibcode=2013PhT..2013g8388M |url-access=subscription}} Published in 1976 by Saunders College Publishing and designed by Scott Olelius, the book has been translated into over half a dozen languages and it and its competitor, Introduction to Solid State Physics (often shortened to Kittel), are considered the standard introductory textbooks of condensed matter physics.
Reception
The book has been reviewed several times and has been recommended in many other works. In a review of another work by the MRS Bulletin in 2011, the book was said to be "the indispensable work on electronic systems for experimental condensed matter physicists", due largely to the book's "lucidity and panache".{{Cite journal|date=November 2001|title=Library|journal=MRS Bulletin|language=en|volume=26|issue=11|pages=940–941|doi=10.1557/mrs2001.250|issn=1938-1425|doi-access=free}} The book is also recommended in other textbooks on condensed matter physics, including The Solid State by Harold Max Rosenberg in 1979, where it is called a "detailed, higher-level, modern treatment."{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg, H. M. (Harold Max)|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/4599119|title=The solid state : an introduction to the physics of crystals for students of physics, materials science, and engineering|date=1978|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=0-19-851844-7|edition=2d|location=Oxford|oclc=4599119}}{{Cite journal|last=Cochran|first=W.|date=February 1980|title=Solid state physics|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/283878b0|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=283|issue=5750|pages=878–879|doi=10.1038/283878b0|bibcode=1980Natur.283..878C|s2cid=4320714|issn=1476-4687|url-access=subscription}} The textbook Solid-State Physics for Electronics by Andre Moliton states in the foreword that the book aims to prepare students to "use by him- or herself the classic works of taught solid state physics, for example, those of Kittel and Ashcroft and Mermin."{{Cite book|last=Moliton|first=Andre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s4I56xM8fCAC|title=Solid-State Physics for Electronics|date=1 March 2013|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-62324-4|language=en}} Along with Kittel, the textbook Introduction to Solid State Physics and Crystalline Nanostructures by Giuseppe Iadonisi, Giovanni Cantele, and Maria Luisa Chiofalo included the book in the "Acknowledgements" section as "special mentions".{{Cite book|last=Iadonisi, G. (Giuseppe)|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/881681569|title=Introduction to solid state physics and crystalline nanostructures|others=Cantele, Giovanni,, Chiofalo, M. L. (Maria Luisa)|date=13 June 2014|isbn=978-88-470-2805-0|location=Milan|oclc=881681569|page=xv}} It is also called one of the standard textbooks of solid state physics in the textbook Polarized Electrons In Surface Physics.{{Cite book|last=Feder|first=R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EnoGCwAAQBAJ&q=%22Solid+State+Physics%22+Ashcroft+Mermin&pg=PR5|title=Polarized Electrons In Surface Physics|date=1 January 1986|publisher=World Scientific|isbn=978-981-4518-91-8|language=en|page=xiv}} In a 2003 article detailing Mermin's contributions to solid state physics, the book was said to be "an extraordinarily readable textbook of the subject, which introduced a whole generation of solid state specialists to a subtle and elegant way of doing theoretical physics."{{Cite journal|last1=Greenberger|first1=Daniel|last2=Shimony|first2=Abner|date=1 October 2003|title=The Presence of David Mermin|url=https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026033228750|journal=Foundations of Physics|language=en|volume=33|issue=10|pages=1419–1422|doi=10.1023/A:1026033228750|bibcode=2003FoPh...33.1419G |s2cid=118831799|issn=1572-9516|url-access=subscription}} The book, along with Kittel is also used as a benchmark for other books on solid-state physics; the publisher's description for the book Advanced Solid State Physics by Philip Phillips that was supplied to the Library of Congress for its bibliography entry states: "This is a modern book in solid state physics that should be accessible to anyone who has a working level of solid state physics at the Kittel or Ashcroft/Mermin level."{{Cite web|title=Publisher description for Library of Congress control number 2002069113|url=http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0831/2002069113-d.html|access-date=3 December 2020|website=Library of Congress}}
= Reviews =
The book received several reviews, including published articles in Science,{{Cite journal|last=Ehrenreich|first=H.|date=19 August 1977|title=Solid State: A New Exposition|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.197.4305.753.a|journal=Science|language=en|volume=197|issue=4305|pages=753|doi=10.1126/science.197.4305.753|issn=0036-8075|pmid=17790767|url-access=subscription}} Physics Today,{{Cite journal|last=Smoluchowski|first=R.|date=January 1977 |title=Solid State Physics|journal=Physics Today|language=en|volume=30|issue=1|pages=61–65|doi=10.1063/1.3037370|bibcode=1977PhT....30R..61A|issn=0031-9228|doi-access=free}} and Physics Bulletin{{Cite journal|last=Dean|first=P. J.|date=June 1977|title=Solid State Physics|url=https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0031-9112%2F28%2F6%2F040|journal=Physics Bulletin|language=en|volume=28|issue=6|pages=278|doi=10.1088/0031-9112/28/6/040|issn=0031-9112|url-access=subscription}} in 1977. It was also reviewed in German.{{Cite journal|date=1978|title=Solid State Physics. Von N. W. Ashcroft und N. D. Mermin; Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York 1976, XXII, 826 Seiten, $19,95|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/piuz.19780090109|journal=Physik in unserer Zeit|language=de|volume=9|issue=1|pages=33|doi=10.1002/piuz.19780090109|bibcode=1978PhuZ....9S..33.|url-access=subscription}}
= ''Impressionism, Realism, and the aging of Ashcroft and Mermin'' =
In July 2013, José Menéndez, a physics professor at the Arizona State University Tempe campus published an article titled "Impressionism, Realism, and the aging of Ashcroft and Mermin" in Physics Today that stated: "It is undoubtedly one of the best physics books ever written, but it is not aging well".{{Cite journal|last=Menéndez|first=José|date=July 2013 |title=Impressionism, Realism, and the aging of Ashcroft and Mermin|journal=Physics Today|language=en|volume=66|issue=7|pages=8|doi=10.1063/PT.3.2023|bibcode=2013PhT....66Q...8M|issn=0031-9228|doi-access=free}} Both Ashcroft{{Cite journal|last=Ashcroft|first=Neil|date=July 2013|title=Impressionism, Realism, and the aging of Ashcroft and Mermin|journal=Physics Today|language=en|volume=66|issue=7|pages=8–9|doi=10.1063/PT.3.2025|bibcode=2013PhT....66g...8A|issn=0031-9228|doi-access=free}} and Mermin{{Cite journal|last=Mermin|first=N. David|date=July 2013|title=Impressionism, Realism, and the aging of Ashcroft and Mermin|url=http://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.2024|journal=Physics Today|language=en|volume=66|issue=7|pages=8|doi=10.1063/PT.3.2024|bibcode=2013PhT....66R...8M|issn=0031-9228|url-access=subscription}} wrote separate responses that were published in the same issue, addressing Menéndez's concerns. In his reply, Ashcroft wrote: "Over the years many readers have remarked that the initial edition of our book should 'not be touched'; it is just right in its treatments of the fundamentals." He then went on to say that writing a sequel "encompassing the many advances in condensed-matter physics that have occurred over the past 38 years" could be an option, but pointed to the fact that the book was translated into French, German, and Portuguese in the previous ten years as evidence that others agree it should be left as is.
Release details
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|title=Solid state physics|date=1976|publisher=Saunders College Publishing|isbn=0-03-083993-9|location=New York|language=English|oclc=934604|ref=none}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|title=Fizika tverdogo tela|volume=1|translator1-last=Mihajlov|translator1-first=Aleksandr S|translator2-last=Kaganov|translator2-first=Moisej Isaakovič|translator3-last=Kugel'|translator3-first=Kliment Il'ič|date=1979|publisher=Izdatel'stvo "Mir"|location=Moskva|language=Russian|oclc=313609844|ref=none}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|title=Fizika tverdogo tela|volume=2|translator1-last=Mihajlov|translator1-first=Aleksandr S|translator2-last=Kaganov|translator2-first=Moisej Isaakovič|translator3-last=Kugel'|translator3-first=Kliment Il'ič|date=1979|publisher=Izdatel'stvo "Mir"|location=Moskva|language=Russian|oclc=934758977|ref=none}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N.David|title=固体の物性各論 / Kotai no bussei kakuron|translator1-last=Matsubara|translator1-first=Takeo|translator2-last=Machida|translator2-first=Kazushige|date=1982|publisher=Yoshioka Shoten|isbn=978-4-8427-0205-6|location=Kyōto|language=Japanese|oclc=47518375|ref=none}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|title=Fizyka ciała stałego|translator-last=Kowalski|translator-first=Jacek Maria|date=1986|publisher=Państ. Wydaw. Naukowe|isbn=978-83-01-05360-4|location=Warszawa|language=Polish|oclc=1150493985|ref=none}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|title=Physique des solides|translator1-last=Biet|translator1-first=Franck|translator2-last=Kachkachi|translator2-first=Hamid|date=2002|publisher=EDP sciences|isbn=978-2-86883-577-2|location=Les Ulis|language=French|oclc=470239249|ref=none}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|title=Physikē stereas katastasēs|translator1-last=Kamaratos|translator1-first=Matthaios K|date=2012|publisher=Ekdosē A.G. Pneumatikos|isbn=978-960-7258-77-9|location=Athēna|language=Greek|oclc=880484572|ref=none}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|title=Física do estado sólido|date=2011|publisher=Cengage Learning|translator-last=De Oliveira|translator-first=Maria Lucia Godinho|isbn=978-85-221-0902-9|location=São Paulo|language=Portuguese|oclc=817233944|ref=none}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|title=固态物理学|date=2013|publisher=世界图书出版公司|isbn=978-7-5062-6631-4|location=Beijing|language=Chinese|oclc=951624419|ref=none}}
- {{Cite book|last1=Ashcroft|first1=Neil W.|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|title=Festkörperphysik|translator-last=Gress|translator-first=Jochen|date=2013|publisher=München Oldenbourg|isbn=978-3-486-71301-5|location=Munich|language=German|oclc=829307060|ref=none}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Cite web|title=Solid State Physics, 1st Edition - 9780030839931|url=https://www.cengage.com/c/solid-state-physics-1e-ashcroft/9780030839931/|access-date=3 December 2020|website=Cengage Learning|language=en}}
- {{Cite journal|last1=Bethe|first1=Hans A.|author-link=Hans Bethe|last2=Mermin|first2=N. David|date=12 January 2007|title=A Conversation About Solid-State Physics|url=https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1063/1.1784274|journal=Physics Today|language=en|volume=57|issue=6|pages=53|doi=10.1063/1.1784274|issn=0031-9228|url-access=subscription}}
- {{Cite web|title=Solid State Physics|url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=74009772&searchType=1&permalink=y|access-date=3 December 2020|website=Library of Congress|language=en}}
Category:1976 non-fiction books
Category:Condensed matter physics