Condensed-Matter and Materials Physics: The Science of the World Around Us (Electronic book text)

As part of the 2010 physics decadal survey project, DOE and NSF requested the NRC to assess opportunities, over roughly the next decade, in condensed matter and materials physics (CMMP). The study is to review recent accomplishments and new opportunities; identify potential future impact of CMMP; consider its contributions to national needs; assessing priorities for tools and facilities; analyze current research and funding; and make recommendations for realizing the full benefit of CMMP. This report presents a survey of the CMMP field during the last decade, including the state of federal and private support of CMMP within the United States, and looks ahead to the intellectual and technological challenges of the coming decade. This discussion is centered about six grand challenges concerning energy demand, the physics of life, information technology, nanotechnology, complex phenomena, and behavior far from equilibrium.