Solids

Abstract

We have already seen that the constituent atoms, ions or molecules in a solid material are trapped between their neighbours because they have insufficient thermal energy to escape. They are confined to fixed positions on a crystal lattice, held by a network of cohesive forces that tends to oppose any attempt to deform it, and it is this that gives crystalline solids their characteristic rigidity. We shall begin by considering elasticity, which is the property of a solid that tends to return it to its original dimensions when it has been deformed.