Try to bend a piece of glass, and it may break. But what if it were possible to create a different, stronger type of glass?
Researchers at the University of Oregon conducted physics experiments and developed a mathematical solution to create what they call “perfect glass.” That is, glass is made of molecules packed as tightly as possible, resulting in a material with a very high melting point, high flexibility and great strength.
As of now, their research is a rare demonstration that such a property is possible, at least on a two-dimensional scale in a computer.
But they decided to solve a problem that they thought was impossible for a long time. Many were devoted to it.
Now, they have what other researchers can do for themselves as they search for a thicker form of glass.
It gives hope to make the strongest glasses that can approach the best,” said University of Oregon physicist Eric Corwin, who led the research, published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Eric Corwin, a physicist at the University of Oregon
Charlie Litchfield / University of Oregon
Corwin is not just talking about window glass.
In physics, a glass is any amorphous substance: A substance that can dissolve in various states of discontinuity. His research would also use plastics, rubber and silicon.
Although glass is solid, it is what is called an amorphous solid.
It does not have a stable melting point and contains inactive molecules, similar to a liquid. Those molecules are frozen in place, but suddenly, there’s a lot of useless space between them.
On the other hand, there are crystalline solids – like aluminum.
These have stable melting points. Pure aluminum, for example, has a melting point of 1220.6 degrees. And the molecules in aluminum and other solid crystals are not as random as glass. They form a neat lattice pattern. They are designed in a way that does not take up space, so it is possible to make them as powerful as possible.
Corwin likened the difference to people riding a bus: if they get on in an orderly way, more people will fit.
Physicists have long claimed that if glass molecules can be packed into a dense structure, such as the one on the left, they can produce a strong form of glass. Normally, glass molecules are arranged irregularly, with a lot of space between them, as shown in the picture on the right.
Image courtesy of the University of Oregon
Scientists have long wondered if they could produce stronger forms of glass by arranging molecules like solid crystals, thus wrapping them in their densest form.
In 1948, American chemist Walter Kauzmann hypothesized that glass could reach that state if cooled slowly enough. He decided that it would take an indefinite amount of time, so he dismissed the idea.
For the past eighty years, scientists have been putting Kausmann’s mystery to the test, but they have not found a solution so far.
Corwin and his team began their research by reducing the problem to its simplest form.
They used computer modeling to draw two-dimensional molecules.
They discovered that glass molecules can pack into their densest form if they can change their size as they pack. Some would grow, and some would be small; eventually, they would form a structure similar to that of solid crystals.
The end result would be a material that is more resistant to pressure and heat.
“It would be a huge advance,” Corwin said. “Because one of the advantages of glass is that it can be shaped into any shape you like in a way that you can’t do with crystal materials.”
Next, Corwin and his team will try to repeat their arguments on a three-dimensional scale.
#Oregon #researchers #discover #beautiful #glass #numbers