Introduction to Solid State Physics — Charles Kittel, 1963

Charles Kittel — John Wiley & Sons, 1963. Second Edition, hardcover.

Few physics textbooks have shaped a discipline as durably as Kittel's Introduction to Solid State Physics. First published in 1953 and already in its second edition by 1956 (with this 1963 printing reflecting continued demand), Kittel's text arrived just as solid-state physics was transforming from a niche academic pursuit into the engine of the modern technological world. The transistor had been invented at Bell Labs in 1947; the integrated circuit followed in 1958. Kittel gave a generation of physicists and engineers the theoretical vocabulary — crystal structure, phonons, band theory, semiconductors — to understand and extend those breakthroughs. It remains one of the most cited physics textbooks ever written, and this early edition captures the field at its most formative moment.

Topics Covered

• Crystal structure and X-ray diffraction
• Lattice dynamics and phonons
• Free electron theory and energy bands
• Semiconductor physics and properties
• Magnetic and dielectric properties of solids
• Superconductivity fundamentals

An essential volume for collectors of scientific literature, physics educators, and anyone who wants to hold in their hands the book that helped build the semiconductor age.