A Journey into Reciprocal Space

A Crystallographer's Perspective

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Chemistry, Crystallography, Physics, Solid State Physics, Technology, Material Science
Cover of the book A Journey into Reciprocal Space by A.M. Glazer, Morgan & Claypool Publishers
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: A.M. Glazer ISBN: 9781681746227
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers Publication: November 16, 2017
Imprint: IOP Concise Physics Language: English
Author: A.M. Glazer
ISBN: 9781681746227
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers
Publication: November 16, 2017
Imprint: IOP Concise Physics
Language: English

The concept of reciprocal space is over 100 years old, and has been of particular use by crystallographers in order to understand the patterns of spots when x-rays are diffracted by crystals. However, it has a much more general use, especially in the physics of the solid state. In order to understand what it is, how to construct it and how to make use of it, it is first necessary to start with the so-called real or direct space and then show how reciprocal space is related to it. Real space describes the objects we see around us, especially with regards to crystals, their physical shapes and symmetries and the arrangements of atoms within: the so-called crystal structure. Reciprocal space on the other hand deals with the crystals as seen through their diffraction images. Indeed, crystallographers are accustomed to working backwards from the diffraction images to the crystal structures, which we call crystal structure solution. In solid state physics, one usually works the other way, starting with reciprocal space to explain various solid-state properties, such as thermal and electrical phenomena.

In this book, I start with the crystallographer's point of view of real and reciprocal space and then proceed to develop this in a form suitable for physics applications. Note that while for the crystallographer reciprocal space is a handy means of dealing with diffraction, for the solid-state physicist it is thought of as a way to describe the formation and motion of waves, in which case the physicist thinks of reciprocal space in terms of momentum or wave-vector k-space. This is because, for periodic structures, a characteristic of normal crystals, elementary quantum excitations, e.g. phonons and electrons, can be described both as particles and waves. The treatment given here, will be by necessity brief, but I would hope that this will suffice to lead the reader to build upon the concepts described. I have tried to write this book in a suitable form for both undergraduate and graduate students of what today we call "condensed matter physics."

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The concept of reciprocal space is over 100 years old, and has been of particular use by crystallographers in order to understand the patterns of spots when x-rays are diffracted by crystals. However, it has a much more general use, especially in the physics of the solid state. In order to understand what it is, how to construct it and how to make use of it, it is first necessary to start with the so-called real or direct space and then show how reciprocal space is related to it. Real space describes the objects we see around us, especially with regards to crystals, their physical shapes and symmetries and the arrangements of atoms within: the so-called crystal structure. Reciprocal space on the other hand deals with the crystals as seen through their diffraction images. Indeed, crystallographers are accustomed to working backwards from the diffraction images to the crystal structures, which we call crystal structure solution. In solid state physics, one usually works the other way, starting with reciprocal space to explain various solid-state properties, such as thermal and electrical phenomena.

In this book, I start with the crystallographer's point of view of real and reciprocal space and then proceed to develop this in a form suitable for physics applications. Note that while for the crystallographer reciprocal space is a handy means of dealing with diffraction, for the solid-state physicist it is thought of as a way to describe the formation and motion of waves, in which case the physicist thinks of reciprocal space in terms of momentum or wave-vector k-space. This is because, for periodic structures, a characteristic of normal crystals, elementary quantum excitations, e.g. phonons and electrons, can be described both as particles and waves. The treatment given here, will be by necessity brief, but I would hope that this will suffice to lead the reader to build upon the concepts described. I have tried to write this book in a suitable form for both undergraduate and graduate students of what today we call "condensed matter physics."

More books from Morgan & Claypool Publishers

Cover of the book Detecting the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Relativity, Symmetry, and the Structure of Quantum Theory, Volume 2 by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book A Practical Guide to Testing Wireless Smartphone Applications by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Lectures on Selected Topics in Mathematical Physics by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Verified Functional Programming in Agda by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Electromagnetism by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Domain-Sensitive Temporal Tagging by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Linked Lexical Knowledge Bases by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book An Architecture for Fast and General Data Processing on Large Clusters by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book 3D Scientific Visualization with Blender by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Automatic Text Simplification by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Mining Heterogeneous Information Networks by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Crafting your Research Future by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book A Little Book on Teaching by A.M. Glazer
Cover of the book Model-Driven Software Engineering in Practice by A.M. Glazer
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy