Approximating the electron-phonon coupling constant in superconductors from thermodynamic data

A method is discussed for estimating the electron-phonon coupling constant _ep from the jump in heat capacity at the superconducting transition which can be enhanced above the BCS value by strong coupling effects. Although based on a simple model of the superconducting state, reasonable agreement is found with published experimental data for a variety of crystalline superconductors, none of which is strongly anisotropic.