What is 'Effective Mass of an Electron'

Replies

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  gohm

  Effective mass of an electron is the particle's mass when moving inside a solid such as crystal. It normally involves a magnetic field.
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  Morningdot Hablu

  You must find the difference between the mass what you calculated and what is mentioned.
  So the difference between real mass and apparent mass is termed as effective mass.
  .
  Correct me if i m wrong anywhere !!
• 

  gaurav200x

  gohm

  Effective mass of an electron is the particle's mass when moving inside a solid such as crystal. It normally involves a magnetic field.

  Thanks but can you explain in detail or give a link with a clear and detailed explanation. 😀
• 

  gaurav200x

  mohit007kumar00

  You must find the difference between the mass what you calculated and what is mentioned.
  So the difference between real mass and apparent mass is termed as effective mass.
  .
  Correct me if i m wrong anywhere !!

  What is apparent mass?
• 

  skipper

  Mass is conserved. An electron has, like all massive particles, a rest mass.
  
  But electrons can only truly be at rest at absolute zero, and because of the uncertainty principle no particle can have zero energy (if it did, its energy would be known and QM says this is not possible). The mass of electrons depends on their energy, so if their velocity changes because they accelerate or decelerate when propagating through a medium, so does their effective mass.
  
  Electrons are accelerated by electric fields so there's a direct correspondence between voltage and electron mass-energy, or between voltage and the classical resistance of a medium.