Question

The Drude model uses Newton’s laws, which say that an electron in a constant electric field should experience constant acceleration. What actually happens and why?
-What material parameters determine resistivity?

Which one material parameter is most responsible for the wide range of resistivities that are possible?

Answer 1

Answer:

Electrons are influenced by internal forces.

-On the temperature, density of electrons per unit of volume and relaxation time.

-The temperature

Explanation:

The Drude model neglects interactions between electrons and ions and with themselves. Those interactions (by which we refer as electromagnetic forces) influence in the random movement and freedom of the electron. So, they could be more restricted or could influence in conductivity more.

The deduction of the resistivity comes from the Ohm's law, which states that the Electric field in the material is proportional to the current density of electrons by a constant, which is the resistivity itself. The equation goes as follows:

$\rho=\frac{m_e}{e^2n_e \tau }$

Where e refers to electron (or the charge of it), τ is the relaxation time (average time between collisions), m is the mass and n is the density of charges (electrons in this case) per volume. However, experimentally resistivity is also dependent on temperature, which actually influence the relaxation time. The thermal energy influence in the behavior of the electrons, making them collide with phonons, have more randomness and reduced mean free path.