- #1
artfullounger
- 79
- 12
Hello PF :D
So, I am an (engineering) undergraduate working on an independent study project, which for me is doing some computational work for a lecturer's research. Specifically, I am using the Abinit package to calculate the elastic properties of some metalloids. To create the input file I need to include information on, among other things, the primitive vectors and coordinates (cartesian or reduced) of the atoms in the crystal.
The problem is that I don't know how to calculate these properties! Currently my background is limited to Engineering Materials Vol. 1 by Ashby and Jones, which discusses some basic concepts of crystallography, but doesn't have anything on how to calculate the coordinates of atoms in a crystal structure given certain parameters. I also have been referring to the Physics of Engineering Solids by Hutchinson and Baird which has more stuff on lattices but I find somewhat confusing.
Thus, my question is, can you recommend any good learning resources (textbook or otherwise, although I find podcasts and videos less helpful for my learning style) for basic solid state physics/materials science focusing particularly on lattices and crystal structure (with examples of calculations and the like ideally)? Currently I've just been trying out different books that are more or less on these topics. I'm planning on having a look at Kittel next, as that's the recommended text for my universities introductory solid state physics course.
So, I am an (engineering) undergraduate working on an independent study project, which for me is doing some computational work for a lecturer's research. Specifically, I am using the Abinit package to calculate the elastic properties of some metalloids. To create the input file I need to include information on, among other things, the primitive vectors and coordinates (cartesian or reduced) of the atoms in the crystal.
The problem is that I don't know how to calculate these properties! Currently my background is limited to Engineering Materials Vol. 1 by Ashby and Jones, which discusses some basic concepts of crystallography, but doesn't have anything on how to calculate the coordinates of atoms in a crystal structure given certain parameters. I also have been referring to the Physics of Engineering Solids by Hutchinson and Baird which has more stuff on lattices but I find somewhat confusing.
Thus, my question is, can you recommend any good learning resources (textbook or otherwise, although I find podcasts and videos less helpful for my learning style) for basic solid state physics/materials science focusing particularly on lattices and crystal structure (with examples of calculations and the like ideally)? Currently I've just been trying out different books that are more or less on these topics. I'm planning on having a look at Kittel next, as that's the recommended text for my universities introductory solid state physics course.