Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2011 Paper 1 Section C C11 Solution 2026-10-20
For the electronic and lattice heat-capacity crossover in a monovalent metal, to obtain a numerical estimate from alone, assume monovalent potassium is a three-dimensional free electron gas with a parabolic band. Including both spins, the molar density of states is . Using the supplied approximate coefficient , rather than silently replacing it by , givesEquating it to the stated low-temperature Debye heat capacity yields the nonzero crossoverWe used and . This is self-consistently far below and the Fermi temperature. Using the exact Sommerfeld coefficient instead gives ; that is a change of approximation, not a discrepancy in the algebra. Without a band/DOS assumption, the supplied Fermi energy does not by itself determine .