This 1953 critical survey of the electronic properties of solids will be of value to physicists and research metallurgists.This second edition, first published in 1953 when the mathematical formulation of the theory of metals was substantially completed, provides a valuable survey for physicists and research metallurgists. It is a critical survey of the electronic properties of solids. A detailed index provides a useful aid to independent reading.This second edition, first published in 1953 when the mathematical formulation of the theory of metals was substantially completed, provides a valuable survey for physicists and research metallurgists. It is a critical survey of the electronic properties of solids. A detailed index provides a useful aid to independent reading.This second edition, first published in 1953 when the mathematical formulation of the theory of metals was substantially completed, provides a valuable survey for physicists and research metallurgists. It is a critical survey of the electronic properties of solids. A detailed index provides a useful aid to independent reading.Preface; 1. Historical introduction; 2. The motion of an electron in a perfect crystal lattice; 3. Metallic structures; 4. The structure of alloys; 5. Semi-conductors; 6. The thermal and magnetic properties of metals; 7. Ferromagnetism; 8. The formal theory of conduction; 9. The mechanism of conductivity; 10. Application of the variation principle to conduction phenomena; Appendix: the Firmi-Dirac statistics; List of important symbols, units and physical constants; Index of subjects; Index of names.