Crystals, Defects and Microstructures
Modeling Across Scales

Examines the advances made in the field in recent years and looks at the various methods now used; ideal for graduate students and researchers.

Rob Phillips (Author)

9780521793575, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 February 2001

720 pages, 362 b/w illus.
24.8 x 17.5 x 3.6 cm, 1.608 kg

'I would recommend it to anyone wishing to get both a broad overview of the intersection of theoretical condensed matter physics with modern materials science, and some good pointers toward future research directions.' Nigel Goldenfeld, Physics Today

Materials science has emerged as one of the central pillars of the modern physical sciences and engineering, and is now even beginning to claim a role in the biological sciences. A central tenet in the analysis of materials is the structure-property paradigm, which proposes a direct connection between the geometric structures within a material and its properties. The increasing power of high-speed computation has had a major impact on theoretical materials science and has permitted the systematic examination of this connection between structure and properties. In this graduate textbook, Rob Phillips examines the various methods that have been used in the study of crystals, defects and microstructures and that have made such computations possible. A second key theme is the presentation of recent efforts that have been developed to treat problems involving either multiple spatial or temporal scales simultaneously.

Part I. Thinking About the Material World: 1. Idealizing material response
2. Continuum mechanics revisited
3. Quantum and statistical mechanics revisited
Part II. Energetics of Crystalline Solids: 4. Energetic description of cohesion in solids
5. Thermal and elastic properties of crystals
6. Structural energies and phase diagrams
Part III. Geometric Structures in Solids: Defects and Microstructure: 7. Point defects in solids
8. Line defects in solids
9. Wall defects in solids
10. Microstructure and its evolution
Part IV. Facing the Multiscale Challenge of Real Material Behavior: 11. Points, lines and walls: defect interactions and material response
12. Bridging scales: effective theory construction
13. Universality and specificity in materials.

Subject Areas: Materials science [TGM]