Department of Physics II Semester Question Bank With Answer ( 2 Marks ) (Unit I Conducting Materials) PART A

1. Define mobility of electrons and drift velocity. (June 2009) Mobility is defined as the drift velocity gained by the electron per unit electric field strength. Drift velocity is the average velocity acquired by the free electron in a particular direction due to the application of electric field. 2. Define relaxation time and collision time of free electrons in a metal. (June 2009)

Relaxation time 1 is the time taken by the free electron to reach its equilibrium position from its disturbed position in the presence of the field. Collision time 1 is the average time taken by a free electron between two successive collisions. 3. What are the sources of resistance in metals? The resistance in metals is due to (i) Impurities present in the metals (ii) Temperature of the metal (iii) Number of free electrons. 4. Give the microscopic form of Ohm's law in a metallic conductor. Whether the Ohm's law is true at all temperature? The microscopic form of Ohm's law is J = oE Where J is the current density, o is the electrical conductivity and E is the electric field intensity. The Ohm's law is not true at all temperature in a conductor since the resistance of a conductor varies with temperature in a complicated manner at different range of temperatures. 5. Give the properties of conducting materials. (a) High electrical and thermal conductivities. (b) At steady state, they obey Ohm's law (V = IR) (c) They obey Wiedemann Franz law. (d) They exhibit the phenomenon of superconductivity. 6. Define Electrical conductivity. Electrical conductivity is defined as the current flowing across unit area of cross-section of the material per unit time under unit potential gradient.

7.

Define mean free path.

(June 2012)

The average distance traveled between two successive collisions is called the Mean free path.

It is given by Z = d'
8. Give any two postulates of classical free electron theory. a. A solid metal is composed of atoms and the atoms have nucleus around which there are revolving electrons. b. In the absence of an electric field, the free electrons move in random directions and collide with positive ions fixed to the lattice or there are free electrons. All the collisions are elastic. That is, there is no loss of energy. c. When an electric field is applied to the metal, the free electrons are accelerated in the direction opposite to the direction of applied electric field. 9. State Wiedemann Franz law. (Nov. 2009)

The ratio of thermal conductivity to the electrical conductivity of a metal is directly proportional to the absolute temperature of the metal.

K T where K Thermal conductivity o Electrical conductivity T Absolute temperature

10. What are the main drawbacks of classical free electron theory? (June 2010) (a) Dual nature is not explained. (b) Specific heat variation with temperature is not explained. (c) Atomic fine spectra could not be accounted. (d) Different types of magnetism could not be satisfactorily explained.

11. How classical free electron theory failed to account for specific heat of solid? The value of specific heat of metals (solid) is given by 4.5 @ where, @ is the universal gas constant whereas t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l value is nearly equal to 3@. Since the theoretical and experimental values are not same, classical free electron theory failed to account for specific heat of solid. 12. Write Fermi Dirac distribution function and give its importance.
The probability F(E) of an electron occupying a given energy level at absolute temperature is called Fermi-Dirac distribution function.

It is given by F (E) = where F(E) Femi function

E Energy of the level whose occupancy is considered

E F - Fermi energy of the system , k - Boltzmann constant, T - Absolute temperature Importance: It gives the probability of filling the electron within the Fermi energy level.

13. Define Fermi level of a metal. Give its importance.

(June 2012)

Fermi level is that level at which the probability of electron occupation is 1/2 at any temperature above 0K and also it is the highest level of the filled energy states at 0K. It is the reference energy level, which separates the filled energy levels and vacant energy levels. 14. Define Fermi energy of a metal. Give its importance. (June 2009) Fermi energy is the energy of the state at which the probability of electron occupation is 1/2 at any temperature above 0K and also it is the maximum energy of the filled energy states at 0K. It determines the energy of the particle at any temperature. 15. What is Fermi velocity? The velocity of the electron of the Fermi level is known as Fermi velocity. It is represented by F and is given by 16. What do you mean by carrier concentration in metals? In metals, electrons are the charge carriers. Number of free electrons per unit volume is called carrier concentration. 17. Define Density of energy states. What is its use? (June 2011, June 2013) Density of energy states is defined as the number of energy states per unit volume of the material in an energy interval E and E dE. It is denoted by Z(E) dE.
It is used to calculate the number of charge carriers per unit volume of the solid.