FEE 3201 Physical Electronics A

Elementary material science

Mwema

University of Nairobi

August 2023

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 1 / 31

Shell model of matter

Based on Bohr’s model of the atom

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 2 / 31

Shell model of matter

Based on Bohr’s model of the atom

Mass of an atom is concentrated at the nucleus containing protons and
neutrons of roughly equal mass

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 2 / 31

Shell model of matter

Based on Bohr’s model of the atom

Mass of an atom is concentrated at the nucleus containing protons and
neutrons of roughly equal mass
Protons are positively charged while neutrons are charge neutral

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 2 / 31

Shell model of matter

Based on Bohr’s model of the atom

Mass of an atom is concentrated at the nucleus containing protons and
neutrons of roughly equal mass
Protons are positively charged while neutrons are charge neutral
Coulombic repulsion protons is counteracted by the fundamental
natural force between particles with a short range of in‡uence of
' 10 15 m (1 fm)

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 2 / 31

Shell model of matter

Based on Bohr’s model of the atom

Mass of an atom is concentrated at the nucleus containing protons and
neutrons of roughly equal mass
Protons are positively charged while neutrons are charge neutral
Coulombic repulsion protons is counteracted by the fundamental
natural force between particles with a short range of in‡uence of
' 10 15 m (1 fm)
Number of protons in a nucleus is the atomic number Z

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 2 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrons are regarded to be rigid particles orbiting the nucleus in

circular orbits

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 3 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrons are regarded to be rigid particles orbiting the nucleus in

circular orbits
The radius of the electron orbit is very large compared to that of the
nucleus

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 3 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrons are regarded to be rigid particles orbiting the nucleus in

circular orbits
The radius of the electron orbit is very large compared to that of the
nucleus
Only certain orbits of …xed radii are stable around the nucleus

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 3 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrons are regarded to be rigid particles orbiting the nucleus in

circular orbits
The radius of the electron orbit is very large compared to that of the
nucleus
Only certain orbits of …xed radii are stable around the nucleus
There are as many electrons in a neutral atom as there are protons in
the nucleus

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 3 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrons are regarded to be rigid particles orbiting the nucleus in

circular orbits
The radius of the electron orbit is very large compared to that of the
nucleus
Only certain orbits of …xed radii are stable around the nucleus
There are as many electrons in a neutral atom as there are protons in
the nucleus
With an electron continuously moving in its orbit around the nucleus
with relatively long time periods of ' 10 12 s (1 ps) on the atomic
time scale

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 3 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrons are regarded to be rigid particles orbiting the nucleus in

circular orbits
The radius of the electron orbit is very large compared to that of the
nucleus
Only certain orbits of …xed radii are stable around the nucleus
There are as many electrons in a neutral atom as there are protons in
the nucleus
With an electron continuously moving in its orbit around the nucleus
with relatively long time periods of ' 10 12 s (1 ps) on the atomic
time scale
The electron appears like a spherical negative charge cloud around the
nucleus

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 3 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrons are regarded to be rigid particles orbiting the nucleus in

circular orbits
The radius of the electron orbit is very large compared to that of the
nucleus
Only certain orbits of …xed radii are stable around the nucleus
There are as many electrons in a neutral atom as there are protons in
the nucleus
With an electron continuously moving in its orbit around the nucleus
with relatively long time periods of ' 10 12 s (1 ps) on the atomic
time scale
The electron appears like a spherical negative charge cloud around the
nucleus
Thus, we therefore talk of an orbital rather than orbit

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 3 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrons are regarded to be rigid particles orbiting the nucleus in

circular orbits
The radius of the electron orbit is very large compared to that of the
nucleus
Only certain orbits of …xed radii are stable around the nucleus
There are as many electrons in a neutral atom as there are protons in
the nucleus
With an electron continuously moving in its orbit around the nucleus
with relatively long time periods of ' 10 12 s (1 ps) on the atomic
time scale
The electron appears like a spherical negative charge cloud around the
nucleus
Thus, we therefore talk of an orbital rather than orbit
The electron can thus be regarded as a charge contained within a
spherical shell of given radius

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 3 / 31

Shell model of matter

Requirement of stable orbits is due to the fact that moving charged

particles must lose energy through radiation of electromagnetic energy
hence,

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 4 / 31

Shell model of matter

Requirement of stable orbits is due to the fact that moving charged

particles must lose energy through radiation of electromagnetic energy
hence,
Orbital radius would decrease with the orbiting electron spiraling into
the nucleus

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 4 / 31

Shell model of matter

Requirement of stable orbits is due to the fact that moving charged

particles must lose energy through radiation of electromagnetic energy
hence,
Orbital radius would decrease with the orbiting electron spiraling into
the nucleus
Stable orbit is thus a non-radiating orbit

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 4 / 31

Shell model of matter

Requirement of stable orbits is due to the fact that moving charged

particles must lose energy through radiation of electromagnetic energy
hence,
Orbital radius would decrease with the orbiting electron spiraling into
the nucleus
Stable orbit is thus a non-radiating orbit

Requirement of stable orbits therefore means that

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 4 / 31

Shell model of matter

Requirement of stable orbits is due to the fact that moving charged

particles must lose energy through radiation of electromagnetic energy
hence,
Orbital radius would decrease with the orbiting electron spiraling into
the nucleus
Stable orbit is thus a non-radiating orbit

Requirement of stable orbits therefore means that

Electrons do not randomly occupy the whole space around the nucleus
but only certain well de…ned spherical regions called subshells within
shells obeying certain occupation rules

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 4 / 31

Shell model of matter

Requirement of stable orbits is due to the fact that moving charged

particles must lose energy through radiation of electromagnetic energy
hence,
Orbital radius would decrease with the orbiting electron spiraling into
the nucleus
Stable orbit is thus a non-radiating orbit

Requirement of stable orbits therefore means that

Electrons do not randomly occupy the whole space around the nucleus
but only certain well de…ned spherical regions called subshells within
shells obeying certain occupation rules
Closest or ground-state electron orbit in a hydrogen atom is Bohr’s
radius, a0 ' 0, 053 nm

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 4 / 31

Shell model of matter

Requirement of stable orbits is due to the fact that moving charged

particles must lose energy through radiation of electromagnetic energy
hence,
Orbital radius would decrease with the orbiting electron spiraling into
the nucleus
Stable orbit is thus a non-radiating orbit

Requirement of stable orbits therefore means that

Electrons do not randomly occupy the whole space around the nucleus
but only certain well de…ned spherical regions called subshells within
shells obeying certain occupation rules
Closest or ground-state electron orbit in a hydrogen atom is Bohr’s
radius, a0 ' 0, 053 nm
Bohr radius is used as a unit of length in atomic measurements

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 4 / 31

Shell model of matter

Shells and subshells or orbitals, de…ne probable locations of an

electron and are labeled using

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 5 / 31

Shell model of matter

Shells and subshells or orbitals, de…ne probable locations of an

electron and are labeled using
The principal quantum number n = 1, 2, 3, . . .

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 5 / 31

Shell model of matter

Shells and subshells or orbitals, de…ne probable locations of an

electron and are labeled using
The principal quantum number n = 1, 2, 3, . . .
The orbital angular momentum quantum number, l = 0, 1, 2, . . . , n 1

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 5 / 31

Shell model of matter

Shells are assigned upper case letter symbols as

Symbol K L M N
n 1 2 3 4

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 6 / 31

Shell model of matter

Shells are assigned upper case letter symbols as

Symbol K L M N
n 1 2 3 4

Subshells are assigned lower case letter symbols as

Symbol s p d f
l 0 1 2 3

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 6 / 31

Shell model of matter

Shell and subshells begin …lling up

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 7 / 31

Shell model of matter

Shell and subshells begin …lling up

From those closest to the nucleus - Aufbau principle

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 7 / 31

Shell model of matter

Shell and subshells begin …lling up

From those closest to the nucleus - Aufbau principle
In a manner that maximises the spin angular momentum - Hund’s rule

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 7 / 31

Shell model of matter

Example electronic con…gurations of some of the noble gases

He: 1s2

Ne: 1s2 2s2 2p6

Ar: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6
Kr: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 8 / 31

Shell model of matter

Example electronic con…gurations of some of the noble gases

He: 1s2

Ne: 1s2 2s2 2p6

Ar: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6
Kr: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6

These atoms have a closed shell structure and provide a shorthand

representation for other atoms

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 8 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electronic con…gurations of some important elements for electronic

device applications
C: [He]2s2 2p2
Si: [Ne]3s2 3p2
Ge: [Ar]3d10 4s2 4p6
Ga: [Ar]3d10 4s2 4p1
B: [He]2s2 2p1
P: [Ne]3s2 3p3
As: [Ar]3d10 4s2 4p3

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 9 / 31

Shell model of matter

Alternative representation of electronic con…guration uses a box to

represent a suborbital or subshell and arrows for electron spin

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 10 / 31

Shell model of matter

Alternative representation of electronic con…guration uses a box to

represent a suborbital or subshell and arrows for electron spin
Example, silicon electronic con…guration can be represented as

3p " "
3s "#
2p "# "# "#
2s "#
1s "#

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 10 / 31

Shell model of matter

Bohr’s postulate: An atomic system exists only in a certain series of

electronic states corresponding to a series of discrete values of its
energy

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 11 / 31

Shell model of matter

Bohr’s postulate: An atomic system exists only in a certain series of

electronic states corresponding to a series of discrete values of its
energy
Any change in the energy of the system can only occur by complete
electronic transition between two such states

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 11 / 31

Shell model of matter

Bohr’s postulate: An atomic system exists only in a certain series of

electronic states corresponding to a series of discrete values of its
energy
Any change in the energy of the system can only occur by complete
electronic transition between two such states

Allowed electronic states are called stationary states of the system

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 11 / 31

Shell model of matter

Radiation is absorbed or emitted during a transition between

stationary states and has angular frequency given by
c hc
}ω = } 2π = = En Em , En > Em
λ λ

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 12 / 31

Shell model of matter

Radiation is absorbed or emitted during a transition between

stationary states and has angular frequency given by
c hc
}ω = } 2π = = En Em , En > Em
λ λ
} is the reduced Planck’s constant
h 6, 626 10 34 Js 34
}= = = 1, 054 10 Js
2π 2π

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 12 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrostatic potential of the nucleus has spherical symmetry

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 13 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrostatic potential of the nucleus has spherical symmetry

The electron hence moves with constant velocity about the nucleus

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 13 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrostatic potential of the nucleus has spherical symmetry

The electron hence moves with constant velocity about the nucleus
An electronic orbital is allowed if its circumference, C is an integer
multiple of the de Broglie wavelength de…ned by

2π h
p = }k = } =
λ λ

where p is particle momentum and k = 2π/λ, the wavenumber

describing particle motion

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 13 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrostatic potential of the nucleus has spherical symmetry

The electron hence moves with constant velocity about the nucleus
An electronic orbital is allowed if its circumference, C is an integer
multiple of the de Broglie wavelength de…ned by

2π h
p = }k = } =
λ λ

where p is particle momentum and k = 2π/λ, the wavenumber

describing particle motion
Thus,
C = (n + 1) λ, n = 0, 1, 2, . . .

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 13 / 31

Shell model of matter

Electrostatic potential of the nucleus has spherical symmetry

The electron hence moves with constant velocity about the nucleus
An electronic orbital is allowed if its circumference, C is an integer
multiple of the de Broglie wavelength de…ned by

2π h
p = }k = } =
λ λ

where p is particle momentum and k = 2π/λ, the wavenumber

describing particle motion
Thus,
C = (n + 1) λ, n = 0, 1, 2, . . .

This is the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantisation condition

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 13 / 31
Shell model of matter
De…ning λ in terms of the wavenumber we can write,
k
C = n+1
2π

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 14 / 31

Shell model of matter
De…ning λ in terms of the wavenumber we can write,
k
C = n+1
2π
For an elliptical orbit,
I
kCdl = 2π (n + 1)
C
or I
pdl = 2π } (n + 1)
C

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 14 / 31

Shell model of matter
De…ning λ in terms of the wavenumber we can write,
k
C = n+1
2π
For an elliptical orbit,
I
kCdl = 2π (n + 1)
C
or I
pdl = 2π } (n + 1)
C

I
The integral fdl is called a closed line integral but we will not be
C
solving problems involving it at our level
WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 14 / 31
Shell model of matter

Outer shell electrons are furthest from the nucleus and interact with
the nucleus only weakly

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 15 / 31

Shell model of matter

Outer shell electrons are furthest from the nucleus and interact with
the nucleus only weakly
These electrons hence participate in interatomic interactions hence,
referred to as valence electrons

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 15 / 31

Shell model of matter

Energy of an electron in an atomic system is speci…ed w.r.t. zero

potential energy at in…nity, hence

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 16 / 31

Shell model of matter

Energy of an electron in an atomic system is speci…ed w.r.t. zero

potential energy at in…nity, hence
Electrons within the atomic system have negative potential energy

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 16 / 31

Shell model of matter

Energy of an electron in an atomic system is speci…ed w.r.t. zero

potential energy at in…nity, hence
Electrons within the atomic system have negative potential energy
Electrons outside the in‡uence of the nucleus in the atomic system
have zero potential energy

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 16 / 31

Shell model of matter

Energy of an electron in an atomic system is speci…ed w.r.t. zero

potential energy at in…nity, hence
Electrons within the atomic system have negative potential energy
Electrons outside the in‡uence of the nucleus in the atomic system
have zero potential energy
Lowest energy required to raise electron energy to zero is the
ionisation energy

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 16 / 31

Shell model of matter

Energy of an electron in an atomic system is speci…ed w.r.t. zero

potential energy at in…nity, hence
Electrons within the atomic system have negative potential energy
Electrons outside the in‡uence of the nucleus in the atomic system
have zero potential energy
Lowest energy required to raise electron energy to zero is the
ionisation energy
Energy required to add an extra electron to a charge-neutral atomic
system is the electron a¢ nity of the atom

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 16 / 31

Shell model of matter

Average kinetic and potential energy of an electron in an atom is

determined from the virial theorem which states

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 17 / 31

Shell model of matter

Average kinetic and potential energy of an electron in an atom is

determined from the virial theorem which states
For a collection of particles, the mean kinetic energy is equal to the
negative one-half of the mean potential energy of the particles if the
only forces acting on the particles have an inverse-square law
dependence on the particle-particle separation, i.e.,
1
Ek ,ave = Uave
2

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 17 / 31

Shell model of matter

Average kinetic and potential energy of an electron in an atom is

determined from the virial theorem which states
For a collection of particles, the mean kinetic energy is equal to the
negative one-half of the mean potential energy of the particles if the
only forces acting on the particles have an inverse-square law
dependence on the particle-particle separation, i.e.,
1
Ek ,ave = Uave
2

For a conservative system,

Eave = Ek ,ave + Uave

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 17 / 31

Energy of the hydrogen atom

Example (1)
In a hydrogen atom, the electron orbits the nucleus at a stable radius r0 of
the 1s subshell. If the empirically determined ionisation energy of a
hydrogen atom is 13, 6 eV , determine (a) The average potential and
kinetic energy of the electron w.r.t. to zero energy at in…nity (b) The
coulombic potential energy of the electron, hence estimate r0 for an
electron in the stable orbit of radius r0 (c) The velocity of the electron (d)
The frequency of rotation of the electron round the nucleus

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 18 / 31

Energy of the hydrogen atom

Solution (1)
(a)Total electron energy in the atom w.r.t. reference potential energy at
∞ is 13, 6 eV . From virial theorem, we have
1
Ek ,ave = Uave
2
Thus,
1
Eave = Ek ,ave + Uave = Uave
2
or
Uave = 2Eave = 2 ( 13, 6 eV ) = 27, 2 eV
and
1 1
Ek ,ave = Uave = ( 27, 2 eV ) = 13, 6 eV
2 2

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 19 / 31

Energy of the hydrogen atom

Solution (1)
(b) From elementary electrostatics, we have the potential energy of a
system of two charges Q1 and Q2 separated by a distance r as
Q1 Q2
Uave =
4πe0 r
For the hydrogen atom, we thus have

q2 q2
Uave = ) r0 =
4πe0 r0 4πe0 Uave
or
2
1, 6 10 19 C
r0 = 12
4π (8, 854 10 Fm 1 ) (27, 2 eV ) (1, 6 10 19 Jev 1)
1 1
= 0, 0529 nm = a0 Note: F = CV , V = JC
WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 20 / 31
Energy of the hydrogen atom

Solution (1)
(c) From
1 2
Ek ,ave = mv
2
we have
r s
2Ek ,ave 2 13, 6 eV 1, 6 10 19 JeV 1
v = = 31
mn 9, 1 10 kg
= 2, 19 106 ms 1

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 21 / 31

Energy of the hydrogen atom

Solution (1)
(d) The period of rotation is given by

2πr0
T = = 0, 152 fs
v
Hence,
1
f = = 6580 1012 = 6580 THz
T

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 22 / 31

Atomic mass

Atomic mass speci…ed in terms of the atom mass unit,

amu = 1, 66054 10 27 kg

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 23 / 31

Atomic mass

Atomic mass speci…ed in terms of the atom mass unit,

amu = 1, 66054 10 27 kg
amu is the mass of exactly one-twelveth of the mass of a carbon-12
atom

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 23 / 31

Atomic mass

Atomic mass speci…ed in terms of the atom mass unit,

amu = 1, 66054 10 27 kg
amu is the mass of exactly one-twelveth of the mass of a carbon-12
atom
Atomic mass or relative atomic weight Mat of an element is the
average mass of the atom in amu of all naturally occurring stable
isotopes of the element

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 23 / 31

Atomic mass

Number of atoms in exactly 12 g or one mole of carbon-12 is the

Avogadro’s number NA = 6, 022 1023

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 24 / 31

Atomic mass

Number of atoms in exactly 12 g or one mole of carbon-12 is the

Avogadro’s number NA = 6, 022 1023
NA atoms of any substance have a total mass numerically equal to
Mat expressed in grams

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 24 / 31

Atomic mass

Number of atoms in exactly 12 g or one mole of carbon-12 is the

Avogadro’s number NA = 6, 022 1023
NA atoms of any substance have a total mass numerically equal to
Mat expressed in grams
Hence, atomic mass can also be expressed in gmol 1 or kgmol 1

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 24 / 31

Atomic mass

Number of atoms in exactly 12 g or one mole of carbon-12 is the

Avogadro’s number NA = 6, 022 1023
NA atoms of any substance have a total mass numerically equal to
Mat expressed in grams
Hence, atomic mass can also be expressed in gmol 1 or kgmol 1
One mole of an ideal gas under standard temperature and pressure
(stp) conditions occupies 0, 0224 m3

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 24 / 31

Atomic mass

Number of atoms in exactly 12 g or one mole of carbon-12 is the

Avogadro’s number NA = 6, 022 1023
NA atoms of any substance have a total mass numerically equal to
Mat expressed in grams
Hence, atomic mass can also be expressed in gmol 1 or kgmol 1
One mole of an ideal gas under standard temperature and pressure
(stp) conditions occupies 0, 0224 m3
Hence, the number of gas particles per unit volume is given by
NA
= 2, 688 1025 m 3
0, 0224 m3

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 24 / 31

Atomic mass

Number of atoms in exactly 12 g or one mole of carbon-12 is the

Avogadro’s number NA = 6, 022 1023
NA atoms of any substance have a total mass numerically equal to
Mat expressed in grams
Hence, atomic mass can also be expressed in gmol 1 or kgmol 1
One mole of an ideal gas under standard temperature and pressure
(stp) conditions occupies 0, 0224 m3
Hence, the number of gas particles per unit volume is given by
NA
= 2, 688 1025 m 3
0, 0224 m3
This is the Lochschmitt number

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 24 / 31

Material compositions

In many applications, we are required to determine compositions in

weight percent (wt. %) or atom percent (at. %)

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 25 / 31

Material compositions

In many applications, we are required to determine compositions in

weight percent (wt. %) or atom percent (at. %)
Material compositions are often expressed in

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 25 / 31

Material compositions

In many applications, we are required to determine compositions in

weight percent (wt. %) or atom percent (at. %)
Material compositions are often expressed in
Weight percent (wt. %) or weight fraction in engineering

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 25 / 31

Material compositions

In many applications, we are required to determine compositions in

weight percent (wt. %) or atom percent (at. %)
Material compositions are often expressed in
Weight percent (wt. %) or weight fraction in engineering
Atom percent (at. %) or molar fraction in chemical formulae

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 25 / 31

Material compositions

A material consisting of two elements A and B in weight fractions wA

and wB resp., can be expressed in molar fractions as follows

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 26 / 31

Material compositions

A material consisting of two elements A and B in weight fractions wA

and wB resp., can be expressed in molar fractions as follows
Let nA and nB be the atomic or molar fractions of A and B resp. in
the material

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 26 / 31

Material compositions

A material consisting of two elements A and B in weight fractions wA

and wB resp., can be expressed in molar fractions as follows
Let nA and nB be the atomic or molar fractions of A and B resp. in
the material
Then,
nA + nB = wA + wB = 1

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 26 / 31

Material compositions

If MA and MB are the respective atomic masses of A and B,

wA /MA
nA =
wA /MA + wB /MB
and
wB /MB
nB = =1 nA
wA /MA + wB /MB

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 27 / 31

Material compositions

Example (2)
The 38, 1 wt.% Pb and 61, 9 wt.% Sn, Pb-Sn solder is the eutectic
composition with the lowest melting point. What is the atomic fraction of
Pb and Sn in this solder? Take MPb = 207, 2 gmol 1 and
MSn = 118, 71 gmol 1 .

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 28 / 31

Material compositions

Solution (2)
We have,
wPb /MPb
nPb = = 0, 261
wPb /MPb + wSn /MSn
nSn = 1 nPb = 0, 739
This solder can then be expressed as Pb0,261 Sn0,739

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 29 / 31

Some common measurement pre…xes

deci (d) 10 1 pico (p) 10 12

centi (c) 10 2 femto (f ) 10 15

milli (m) 10 3 atto (a) 10 18

micro (µ) 10 6 zeyto (z) 10 21

nano (n) 10 9 yocto (y ) 10 24

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 30 / 31

Some common measurement pre…xes

deca (da) 101 tera (T ) 1012

hecto (h) 102 peta (P) 1015
kilo (k) 103 exa (E ) 1018
mega (M) 106 zetta (Z ) 1021
giga (G ) 109 yotta (Y ) 1024

WM (UoN) Elementary material science 08/28 31 / 31