ABSTRACT
In previous chapters, we have built up an understanding of the electronic properties of materials on the microscopic scale. These theories have involved first considering the electrons as classical particles of a free electron gas and later as free electron waves contained within the material. We then found that the electrons occupy allowed energy bands and we were able to distinguish between on the one hand metals and on the other semiconductors and insulators on the basis of their electron band structures. We also found that these electron bands were anisotropic and so plots of allowed energy against position in k-space were necessary. Now we must bring all of these ideas together to account for the macroscopic electrical and thermal properties of materials. In this chapter, therefore, we look at the relationship between macroscopic measurable electrical properties and the underlying electronic properties such as mobility, effective mass and number density of electrons. Then we look at various thermoelectric effects which span the interface between electrical and thermal effects. Finally, we discuss the phenomenon of thermoluminescence which bridges the gap between thermal and optical properties of materials, and therefore provides a link to the next chapter on optical properties.
