Debye model
Modelo de Debye
- Date
- 1912 · confidence high
- Place
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Credited to
- Peter Debye
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
A method that estimates the contribution of lattice vibrations (phonons) to a solid's specific heat, treating them as waves in a box rather than as independent oscillators like the Einstein model. It correctly predicts that specific heat falls with the cube of temperature at low temperatures.
Developed by Peter Debye in 1912, while working at the University of Zurich.
What it led to
- Debye's T³ law for low-temperature specific heat
- an improvement on the Einstein solid model
- a foundation of modern solid-state and phonon physics