Past exam of the chemistry A course of the University of Cambridge 2024 Paper 2 A9 e Solution 2026-10-20
At fixed , the Fermi energy scales as , so . From ,This is the nonrelativistic electron degeneracy pressure. Because ,The units are energy per volume, hence pressure. Converting the Fermi energies to joules gives the ideal Fermi gas bulk modulusThese are free-electron model values. The complete mechanical bulk modulus of a real metal also involves the ionic lattice, electronic bands and interactions; the model's positive electron pressure does not by itself explain the equilibrium crystal volume.