Silver has a Fermi energy E_F = 5.5 eV. Take m = 9.11 × 10⁻³…
Silver has a Fermi energy E_F = 5.5 eV. Take m = 9.11 × 10⁻³¹ kg and 1 eV = 1.602 × 10⁻¹⁹ J. (a) Using ½mv² = E_F, calculate the Fermi speed v_F. (b) A classical gas particle at 300 K would have an average kinetic energy of (3/2)kT = 0.0388 eV; calculate the speed corresponding to that energy the same way. (c) Compare the two speeds and explain in one or two sentences what the comparison reveals about why the classical electron gas model fails for metals. Show your work.
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