Best solid state electrical engineering books according to redditors

The Feynman lectures are really good, and they will take you from basic physics to quantum mechanics.

Get yourself a good groundwork in physics before you worry about flashy things like relativity. The ability to spout out fancy words about fancy-sounding fields really means nothing if you don't actually understand what you are talking about.

Now, this said, once you are ready to dive into quantum mechanics, I'd personally recommend Griffiths.

As a chemical engineer specialized in electron microscopy, I am partial to solid-state physics and physics at the atomic scale, so if you are interested in such small things, I would recommend Callister as an introductory book (it is basically the bible of materials science, and is an excellent beginner book and reference) and Kasap as a very readable book on solid-state physics.

With any such books, unless you are using the book for a class and it is required that you have a particular version, don't worry about getting the newest edition. An older edition will generally save you a lot of money if you purchase a hard copy. That said, it is easy enough to find most of them digitally if you are so inclined.

Ahh, then perhaps try another book (or wikipedia, which tends to have good explanations). I can recommend:

Hu - Modern Semiconductor Devices for Integrated Circuits

http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~hu/Book-Chapters-and-Lecture-Slides-download.html

Sze - Physics of Semiconductor Devices

http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Semiconductor-Devices-Simon-Sze/dp/0471143235

Kasap - Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices

http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Electronic-Materials-Devices-Kasap/dp/0073104647/

Neamen - An Introduction to Semiconductor Devices

http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Semiconductor-Devices-Donald-Neamen/dp/0072987561/

And for entertainment value, Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics:

http://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm

If these aren't available in your library, you can find perfectly good older editions at abebooks.com for less than $20 with shipping.

The semiconductor will always be at equilibrium ( n*p = n_i) unless acted on by an external energy source, such as a bias voltage or light source. No external source = equilibrium.