random close-packing model

physics

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July 13, 2026

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The random close-packing model is a structural model used to describe metallic glasses. It is one of three broad classes of atomic-scale structures for amorphous solids, alongside the continuous random-network model and the random-coil model. This model is conceptually similar to what happens when many marbles are quickly packed together in a bag. While the term "random" is used, these models exhibit short-range order, meaning they are not entirely random like the structure of a gas.1

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amorphous solid
Models of atomic scale structures
…as polystyrene, and (3) the random close-packing model, applicable to metallic glasses, such as Au_0.8Si_0.2 gold-silicon. These are the names in conventional use for the models. Although each of them contains the word random, the well-defined short-range order means that they are not random in the sense that the gas…
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…as polystyrene, and (3) the random close-packing model, applicable to metallic glasses, such as Au_0.8Si_0.2 gold-silicon. These are the names in conventional use for the models. Although each of them contains the word random, the well-defined short-range order means that they are not random in the sense that the gas…
Read More