Question about QM description of metallic conduction

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samgrace
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I have read in a classical EM book:

" The picture of conduction electrons moving freely in conductors is an oversimplification, although it gives a good qualitative description of many of the properties of electric current.

In some materials the current is due to the motion of carriers with a charge equal in size to that on the electron but opposite sign. These carriers are called holes and can be regarded as gaps or holes in the conductor which otherwise has a full complement of electrons, to account for the neutrality that arises from each electron's pair nuclei.

The proper description of metallic conduction requires the use of quantum mechanics. "
 
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What is the quantum mechanical description of metallic conduction?
 
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