Introduction to Solid State Physics

by Charles Kittel

Since the publication of the first edition over 50 years ago, Introduction to Solid State Physics has been the standard solid state physics text for physics majors.  The author’s goal from the beginning has been to write a book that is accessible to undergraduate and consistently teachable.  The emphasis in the book has always been on physics rather than formal mathematics.  With each new edition, the author has attempted to add important new developments in the field without sacrificing the book’s accessibility and teachability.  

Genres: Physics, Textbooks, Science, Nonfiction, Reference, Academic, Mathematics

704 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Adriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This textbook reminds me of poetry. Subpar poetry that's somehow academically acclaimed. It's apparently important that you read it and understand it despite the fact that you need to read more in volume of supporting resources and commentary than this textbook actually contains in order to understand what little it does contain. At that point just read wikipedia. (It gets 2 stars because of its explanation of Van Der Waals forces, that's been helpful.) (Also subpar poetry is at least enjoyable to read sometimes)

[DJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kittel is to solid state texts as artificial insemination is to sex. It may fit the definition in the strictest sense, but it absolutely drains the fun out of the whole game.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Ashcroft & Mermin.

[Colin Lamont · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a lot of material here, but very little that is presented well. The proofs are skeletons of arguments, presumably to let the reader learn by struggling to fill in the gaps. The fundamental concepts, like the fact that the reciprocal lattice is the Fourier transform of the direct lattice, are noted in passing or omitted, while fairly advanced ideas like the magnetic field penetration of a superconductor are presented without anything resembling a solid foundation.

It is easier than Ashcroft and Mermin, and less pedantic (characterization of all crystalline groups anyone?). It is not at all better.

It is a standard text.

[Ala'a Almushaikeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Legendary.

[Drew Pearce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel this book suffered from over editing. I bought myself the very latest version of this and found a lot of the explanations confused and unenlightening. After having spoke to my supervisor he advised looking at some of the previous versions which he claimed were better. I was skeptical but I got a copy of an earlier edition from the library and found it to be much clearer. So, this is not the best book on the subject but can be good if you get the right version.

[Meena · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can't find a better book to quench your solid state physics thirst with. Every concept has been explained with full detail. Brilliant book for a beginner as well.

[Edgar Ma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very good textbook in my opinion. When I first read it, I actually enjoyed it a lot, mostly because of the breadth of topics covered and it being my first formal introduction to condensed matter physics. However, when taking an undergrad condensed matter physics course a year later, which used this as the primary textbook I found I actually retained almost nothing. Upon rereading I realized that the explanations aren't fully fleshed out and don't really provide a deeper understanding of the material. As a result the whole thing feels more like a collection of facts than the logical development of an actual scientific theory.

Two stars because it covers a wide range of material, so it's good as an exposure to many of the ideas in condensed matter physics. However to get a deeper understanding you should supplement it with additional readings.

[Adam Lantos · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book with many highs and many (very) lows. At some points, it is very pedagogical explaining the physics in a very intuitive way. At other points, it is just awful. Sometime it uses awful notation and it seems as if the author actually tries to confuse the reader.
apart from these highs and lows, this textbook is mediocre in the sense that it offers nothing special in terms of pedagogy and thematology(like containing special topics not found elsewhere).

In any way, I think that Ashcroft's textbook is way better.

[Evelyn Buijs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too deep in jargon, does not function well as an introductory book. I like my physics books with a bit more hand holding and clear explanations, instead of Kittel's hand-wavy "and then we do this and this" approach. This book, at least for me, does not manage to introduce solid state physics in a comprehensible way.

[Viktor O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An nteresting scientific textbook!!! However, I think that the superconductorr are much better described in the Nonlinearities in Microwave Superconductivity book by Dimitri O. Ledenyov and Viktor O. Ledenyov!!!

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure why people feel the need to defend this book. The half explanations do more harm than good! Before off not to look at it. See Ashcroft and Mermin or The Oxford Solid State Basics instead.

[Rafael M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very easy to understand. The formulas are in the CGS and SI system, where the latter are always highlighted from the rest of the text.

However there are no solutions at the end of the book, but I think it is possible to find something online.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Shahryar Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very comprehensive introduction to solid state physics. But better to start off with an easier book like Steve Simon's brilliant "The Oxford Solid State Basics".

[Wrox · Rating 2 out of 5]

The more you understand something the more you understand how little this book contains.

[Yuri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitively inferior to Steven Simons "The Oxford Solid State Basics"

[Ida · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is as heavy as a brick, both in a physical and figurative sense.

[Mayur Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Kittel book is the classic solid state physics text. Read it as a starting point.

[Kannu]

how to read this

[Jeffrey Sung · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically a classic in solid-state physics, this text unfortunately suffers from lacking a lot of detail. Not to be used without supplemental lecture materials.

[Superconformal Hassaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a classic book on solid-state physics (SSP) and still, a very good book to meet the modern requirements. The (late) writer of this book is a master of SSP and in addition, his clear communication style makes this book very readable.

He starts the book like any other book of SSP by introducing the concept of the lattice. After that, he introduces the different kinds of lattice and the use of X-ray diffraction in the determination of the lattice is introduced in chapter 2 along with the machinery of Brillouin zones and Ewald spheres to determine the possible final wavevectors. In the third chapter, he talks about the calculations of the total potential energy of nonionic and ionic solids (and the determination of the lattice spacing by optimization of the potential energy). The discussion of phonons starts from chapter 4 in the context of one atom and di-atom bases on a lattice. The writer then goes on to the treatment of metals using the concept of Fermi gases to calculate the heat capacity of metals including phonon and electron contributions.

After these trivial topics, the author goes on to more advanced topics of the treatment of semiconductor physics, superconductivity, magnetism (including diamagnetism, paramagnetism, Ferro, and anti-Ferro magnetism), and different defects in crystals. The author also covers plasma-related topics (like optical plasma and the concept of the pseudo particle called plasmon), topics in nanotechnology, and the topics in ferroelectric at the end of his book.

In conclusion, it is a very readable book but I won't recommend going through all of the books at once. A reader who wishes to have a modest introductory knowledge of solid-state physics only can go through chapters 1 to 8 (or skip chapter 8 if you want to know about semiconductor physics). The people who are working in specific fields in solid-state physics can find an introduction to their specific fields in the later chapters of this book.

I hope it was useful. Happy reading.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was somewhat disappointing. While rather complete it has some major flaws. Among these flaws are its errors in equations and the text itself. Its unconventional mathematical notation is a little off putting in places as well although this is easily overcome.

I have a copy of the third edition and find that to be far superior. It is much more verbose in its explanations. In trying to make the latest edition more terse the author obfuscated it. Additionally the third edition speaks much more about various experiments that can be done or were done in this field.

[Sara Ghotb · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the basic books for condensed matter physicist. Despite not going very deep, it provides a lot of materials that can serve as a good review tool. There are other resources available that can provide more detailed information about condensed matter physics, such as Ashcroft-Mermi and Grosso & Parravicini.

[Stuart Woolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, this text can be a little sparse, but I was captivated by the subject matter and referenced it in subsequent school work / out of personal interest. Some people prefer Ashcroft & Mermin, which apparently includes more in the way of detailed explanations / derivations.

[Niclas Fuglesang geuken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Den här boken är ett upplagsverk för fasta tillstånders fysik, men som kurslitteratur är den mest ivägen. Den klarar inte av att skapa en intuition för fysiken eller brygga hoppet mellan att bara förstå det man läser och att kunna applicera det på andra situationer.

[Ida · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overall sense of what solid state physics is about, yet both the structure and the way arguments are linked are not always the best. I'm reading through the 8th edition, though, so this might have improved in later editions of the book.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay! Solid state physics! I picked it up as an undergrad, and I think it's been my most referenced textbook all the way through grad school.

[Ross Economy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too higher level, not enough "intro" in an introductory text

[Orapan]

Thank you

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as bad as people say, but not very good either. Could really use an update