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c)

Assuming that the N electrons occupy the lowest available energy states, using your result from b), show that the maximum energy of an electron in a metal is given by

(Note that the factor is and not because two (2) electrons occupy each state.)

Using data from a periodic table and assuming that each alkali atom contributes one mobile electron to the metal, compute the density of mobile electrons per unit volume and thus deduce the Fermi energies for the following alkali metals: Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs. Give your results in eV.

Hint: For these metals your results should all be on the order of a few Volts.



Prof. Tomas Alberto Arias
Thu Oct 12 17:30:59 EDT 1995