Einstein’s model of this quantity was derived by treating each atom in a solid as three quantum harmonic oscillators. For 10 points each:
[10e] What quantity, denoted c, equals the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of a material by one degree Celsius?
ANSWER: specific heat [or specific heat capacity; reject “heat”]
[10h] Einstein’s model first calculates the multiplicity of a solid using binomial coefficients, then uses this ubiquitous approximation in statistical mechanics to simplify the logarithm of a factorial.
ANSWER: Stirling’s approximation
[10m] Debye’s (“duh-BYE’s”) model of heat capacity, which is more accurate at low temperatures, assumes energy is carried by these quasiparticles. These quasiparticles represent vibrations in a solid and can be “acoustic” or “optical.”
ANSWER: phonons [accept acoustic or optical phonons]
<Lancaster A, Physics>