Etymology According to physicist Philip Warren Anderson, the use of the term "condensed matter" to designate a field of study was coined by him and Volker Heine, when they changed the name of their group at the Cavendish Laboratories, Cambridge, from Solid state theory to Theory of Condensed Matter in 1967, as they felt it better included their interest in liquids, nuclear matter, and so on. Although Anderson and Heine helped popularize the name "condensed matter", it had been used in Europe for some years, most prominently in the Springer-Verlag journal Physics of Condensed Matter, launched in 1963. The name "condensed matter physics" emphasized the commonality of scientific problems encountered by physicists working on solids, liquids, plasmas, and other complex matter, whereas "solid state physics" was often associated with restricted industrial applications of metals and semiconductors. In the 1960s and 70s, some physicists felt the more comprehensive name better fit the funding environment and Cold War politics of the time.
etymology according to physicist philip warren anderson the use of the term "condensed matter" to designate a field of study was coined by him and volker heine when they changed the name of their group at the cavendish laboratories cambridge from solid state theory to theory of condensed matter in 1967 as they felt it better included their interest in liquids nuclear matter and so on although anderson and heine helped popularize the name "condensed matter" it had been used in europe for some years most prominently in the springer-verlag journal physics of condensed matter launched in 1963 the name "condensed matter physics" emphasized the commonality of scientific problems encountered by physicists working on solids liquids plasmas and other complex matter whereas "solid state physics" was often associated with restricted industrial applications of metals and semiconductors in the 1960s and 70s some physicists felt the more comprehensive name better fit the funding environment and cold war politics of the time