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$\begingroup$ "ALL free electrons can move, regardless of their energy above the Fermi energy" Do you mean interact instead of move? Or "change their energy"? Because of course, all but 2 electrons are constantly moving if we consider a Fermi gas. (yes, there are 2 electrons with exactly zero energy, though they are still spread across the whole sample). $\endgroup$
– untreated_paramediensis_karnik
Commented May 30, 2019 at 13:05
$\begingroup$ Essentially your answer is that the premise of my question is wrong. Then I would like to know where Datta (and many, many others) went wrong. $\endgroup$
– untreated_paramediensis_karnik
Commented May 30, 2019 at 13:07
$\begingroup$ Also I'm not sure why you complicate things by mentioning the bound electrons. My question would still stand if I replaced "metal" by "free electron gas". It would still be entirely valid, and your point regarding the lattice potential(s), useless... I just saw your edit that now says that free (unbound) electrons do not satisfy the Pauli exclusion principle. This is wrong. A free electron gas for example satisfies the PEP, and alkali metals are close to that ideal model. The density of electrons in metals is so high compared to an ordinary gas at atmosphere pressure that the PEP has to be $\endgroup$
– untreated_paramediensis_karnik
Commented May 30, 2019 at 13:14
$\begingroup$ taken into account. This is only from lowly doped semiconductors that the PEP starts to become less relevant. But in metals, it is of utmost importance to understand any basic property, like the electrical and thermal conductivities. $\endgroup$
– untreated_paramediensis_karnik
Commented May 30, 2019 at 13:18
$\begingroup$ I feel did not post any insult to your content. Feel free to report my posts if you think so, and moderators will take over. The free electron model (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_electron_model) is an idealized model of a metal that takes into account PEP. It works well for most alkali metals where the effects of the lattice potential is not very strong. It has its limitations, but it is used to understand how to compute the conductivities and other basic properties of metals. It is much better than Drude's original model (which is still taught). $\endgroup$
– untreated_paramediensis_karnik
Commented May 30, 2019 at 13:35

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