Structure of Matter

This textbook provides an introduction to the structure of matter that will serve as a sound basis for students proceeding to more complex studies and help to bridge the wide gap between elementary physics and topics relating to research activities. The focus is deliberately limited to key concepts and to those aspects most typical of atoms, molecules, and compounds, by examining the basic, structural components without paying detailed attention to the properties that they possess. Solved problems are intertwined with formal presentations of the arguments as an intrinsic part of a pathway designed to enable students to grasp important concepts. In this new edition of the book, more advanced topics in condensed matter physics are addressed in new chapters on phase transitions, ferroelectricity, magnetism and superconductivity. These topics represent a natural extension of the more fundamental coverage of the structure of matter and in particular, of solid state physics as introduced in the final chapters of the previous edition. Structure of Matter: An Introductory Course with Problems and Solutions is an excellent source of basic knowledge in the field of condensed matter, elucidating how phenomenological properties originate from the microscopic, quantum features of nature.