amorphous solid

Introduction
Distinction between crystalline and amorphous solids
Preparation of amorphous solids
- Melt quenching
- Vapour condensation techniques
- Other preparation techniques
Atomic-scale structure
- The radial distribution function
- Models of atomic scale structures
Properties of oxide glasses
Properties and applications of amorphous solids
- Transparent glasses
- Polymeric structural materials
- Amorphous semiconductors in electronics
- Magnetic glasses

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

A side-by-side diagram compares atomic motion in a liquid and a solid; the liquid shows atoms with tangled, overlapping paths, while the solid shows atoms vibrating in fixed, orderly positions.

Figure 2: The atomic arrangements in (A) a crystalline solid, (B) an amorphous solid, and (C) a gas.

Figure 3: The two general cooling paths by which a group of atoms can condense. Route 1 is the path to the crystalline state; route 2 is the rapid-quench path to the amorphous solid state.

Figure 7: Two basic models for the atomic-scale structure of amorphous solids.

Related Questions

How are magnetic glass thin films used in recording media and disk-recording heads?
How are silicon and oxygen atoms connected in amorphous silicon dioxide?
How can amorphous solids act as metals semiconductors or insulators?
How can amorphous solids be transparent or opaque?
How can vapour condensation produce an amorphous thin film?
How do amorphous materials support the xerographic copying process?
How do amorphous solids differ from crystalline solids at the atomic scale?
How do chalcogenide glasses support xerography and electronic switching devices?
How do fibre-optic systems convert voice signals into light pulses and back into sound?
How do network formers and network modifiers affect oxide glass structure?
How do the optical spectra of amorphous solids differ from those of crystals?
How does amorphous selenium function in a photocopier?
How does changing temperature allow molten glass to be shaped by glassblowing?
How does laser glazing turn a small area of crystalline material into glass?
How does the continuous random-network model describe amorphous silicon dioxide?
How does the cooling rate affect the glass transition temperature of a material?
How does the glass transition differ from the freezing of a crystalline solid?
How does the random close-packing model describe metallic glasses?
How does the random-coil model describe the structure of polystyrene glass?
How does total internal reflection keep light inside an optical fibre?
What happens to molecular rearrangement below the glass transition temperature?
Why are amorphous materials useful for making large sheets and thin films?
Why are amorphous polymer films useful in flexible photocopier belts?
Why are iron-based metallic glasses magnetically soft?
Why are metallic glass ribbons useful for electrical transformer cores?
Why are oxide glasses useful as thermal insulators?
Why are very old glassy rocks rare?
Why can an amorphous solid resist shear stress while a liquid cannot?
Why can fibre-optic glass carry signals over long distances with little loss of light?
Why can mixtures of calcium oxide and aluminum oxide form glass more easily than either pure material?
Why do crystalline materials produce sharp features in optical spectra?
Why do metallic glasses usually require faster cooling than silicate glasses?
Why does a gold-silicon mixture near 20 percent silicon form glass more easily than some other gold-silicon mixtures?
Why does an amorphous solid not have a sharply defined freezing point?
Why does an optical fibre have a core and cladding with different refractive indexes?
Why does rapid cooling help a liquid form an amorphous solid rather than a crystal?
Why does the viscosity of molten glass increase so sharply as it cools?
Why is hydrogen added to amorphous silicon used in electronics?
Why is the term amorphous solid somewhat misleading for materials such as glass?
Why is window glass usually made from silicate glass rather than crystalline quartz?

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External Websites

University of North Texas - College of Engineering - Department of Materials Science and Engineering - Non-Crystalline Materials
Chemistry LibreTexts - Introduction to Crystals

amorphous solid

physics

Also known as: amorphous material, amorphous substance, noncrystalline material, noncrystalline solid(Show More)

Written by

Richard Zallen

Professor Emeritus of Physics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg. Author of The Physics of Amorphous Solids.

Richard ZallenAll

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Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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History

amorphous solid, any noncrystalline solid in which the atoms and molecules are not organized in a definite lattice pattern. Such solids include glass, plastic, and gel. Solids and liquids are both forms of condensed matter; both are composed of atoms in close proximity to each other. But their properties are, of course, enormously different. While a solid material has both a well-defined volume and a well-defined shape, a liquid has a well-defined volume but a...

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