Electrical, Optical, and Magnetic Properties of Materials
MIT OpenCourseWare's materials science course builds the quantum mechanical tools needed to explain why materials behave electrically, magnetically, and optically the way they do. It opens with the postulates of quantum mechanics, then works through the hydrogen atom, simple molecules and bonds, and electron behavior in solids through energy bands. The variational principle is introduced as a method for calculating wavefunctions, followed by study of conductivity, dielectric function, and magnetic permeability across metals, semiconductors, and insulators. The course closes with a survey of devices built on these principles, including transistors, magnetic storage media, and optical fibers. Course materials include lecture notes and problem sets from MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering; the magnetics unit taught by co-instructor David Paul is noted as unavailable. Free to audit under MIT OpenCourseWare's standard license, with no certificate offered.