Condensed matter physics

Condensed matter physics is the field of <a href="/facts/Physics/a7aH2y08">physics</a> that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of <a href="/facts/Matter/osyc04UN">matter</a>, especially the <a href="/facts/Solid/hj5UsXno">solid</a> and <a href="/facts/Liquid/t9GkLWzt">liquid</a> <a href="/facts/State_of_matter/ojlIA1UF">phases</a>, that arise from <a href="/facts/Electromagnetic/oAkmALHT">electromagnetic</a> forces between <a href="/facts/Atom/FoQ4kGN5">atoms</a> and <a href="/facts/Electrons/L0KBo5cW">electrons</a>. More generally, the subject deals with condensed phases of matter: systems of many constituents with strong interactions among them. More exotic condensed phases include the <a href="/facts/Superconductivity/pqQAlSzJ">superconducting</a> phase exhibited by certain materials at extremely low <a href="/facts/Cryogenic/cw7dHAkp">cryogenic</a> <a href="/facts/Temperature/QyGe4gmj">temperatures</a>, the <a href="/facts/Ferromagnet/fH3HFnSl">ferromagnetic</a> and <a href="/facts/Antiferromagnet/aQ124Kh7">antiferromagnetic</a> phases of <a href="/facts/Spin_(physics)/4Jvp7e8P">spins</a> on <a href="/facts/Crystal_lattice/7gQKTsXk">crystal lattices</a> of atoms, the <a href="/facts/Bose%E2%80%93Einstein_condensates/76peCwfW">Bose–Einstein condensates</a> found in <a href="/facts/Ultracold_atom/LdM0IeD7">ultracold atomic</a> systems, and <a href="/facts/Liquid_crystals/ehCCST89">liquid crystals</a>. Condensed matter physicists seek to understand the behavior of these phases by experiments to measure various material properties, and by applying the <a href="/facts/Physical_law/aVtc4wpk">physical laws</a> of <a href="/facts/Quantum_mechanics/BRc3Mzgr">quantum mechanics</a>, <a href="/facts/Electromagnetism/oAkmALHT">electromagnetism</a>, <a href="/facts/Statistical_mechanics/6zMsNYYG">statistical mechanics</a>, and other <a href="/facts/Theoretical_physics/Cs2Y12rQ">physics theories</a> to develop mathematical models and predict the properties of extremely large groups of atoms.
The diversity of systems and phenomena available for study makes condensed matter physics the most active field of contemporary physics: one third of all American physicists self-identify as condensed matter physicists, and the Division of Condensed Matter Physics is the largest division of the <a href="/facts/American_Physical_Society/DCkkU6dD">American Physical Society</a>. These include solid state and <a href="/facts/Soft_matter/62NTslbq">soft matter</a> physicists, who study <a href="/facts/Quantum_mechanics/BRc3Mzgr">quantum</a> and non-quantum physical properties of matter respectively. Both types study a great range of materials, providing many research, funding and employment opportunities. The field overlaps with <a href="/facts/Chemistry/SrNqkGVm">chemistry</a>, <a href="/facts/Materials_science/N5HrXRYW">materials science</a>, <a href="/facts/Engineering/RFVg8H3I">engineering</a> and <a href="/facts/Nanotechnology/Co4FFNfY">nanotechnology</a>, and relates closely to <a href="/facts/Atomic_physics/7Jlm4I7k">atomic physics</a> and <a href="/facts/Biophysics/l9u5gqCy">biophysics</a>. The <a href="/facts/Theoretical_physics/Cs2Y12rQ">theoretical physics</a> of condensed matter shares important concepts and methods with that of <a href="/facts/Particle_physics/YgIuyj2t">particle physics</a> and <a href="/facts/Nuclear_physics/fzQbt1aF">nuclear physics</a>.
A variety of topics in physics such as <a href="/facts/Crystallography/9B5toeqG">crystallography</a>, <a href="/facts/Metallurgy/1SANyxX4">metallurgy</a>, <a href="/facts/Elasticity_(physics)/wcJoIFg1">elasticity</a>, <a href="/facts/Magnetism/eo75vApl">magnetism</a>, etc., were treated as distinct areas until the 1940s, when they were grouped together as <a href="/facts/Solid-state_physics/Cmc6hvyR">solid-state physics</a>. Around the 1960s, the study of physical properties of <a href="/facts/Liquid/t9GkLWzt">liquids</a> was added to this list, forming the basis for the more comprehensive specialty of condensed matter physics. The <a href="/facts/Bell_Labs/fKP5Gk0H">Bell Telephone Laboratories</a> was one of the first institutes to conduct a research program in condensed matter physics. According to the founding director of the <a href="/facts/Max_Planck_Institute_for_Solid_State_Research/PNeqgVX3">Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research</a>, physics professor Manuel Cardona, it was <a href="/facts/Albert_Einstein/CNTet8qu">Albert Einstein</a> who created the modern field of condensed matter physics starting with his seminal 1905 article on the <a href="/facts/Photoelectric_effect/gIDcdm5U">photoelectric effect</a> and <a href="/facts/Photoluminescence/L1u2PJIa">photoluminescence</a> which opened the fields of <a href="/facts/Photoelectron_spectroscopy/UPvrQ8zD">photoelectron spectroscopy</a> and <a href="/facts/Photoluminescence_spectroscopy/L1u2PJIa">photoluminescence spectroscopy</a>, and later his 1907 article on the <a href="/facts/Specific_heat_of_solids/I63nzSyp">specific heat of solids</a> which introduced, for the first time, the effect of lattice vibrations on the thermodynamic properties of crystals, in particular the <a href="/facts/Specific_heat/9P0U6YgI">specific heat</a>. Deputy Director of the Yale Quantum Institute <a href="/facts/A._Douglas_Stone/g2feS6yc">A. Douglas Stone</a> makes a similar priority case for Einstein in his work on the synthetic history of <a href="/facts/Quantum_mechanics/BRc3Mzgr">quantum mechanics</a>.

Condensed matter physics open-in-new

Condensed matter physics