The true nature of glass remains something of a mystery to science.
A novelty comes from the University of Constance (Germany) where they discovered a new state of matter called liquid glass. A substance that has properties defined as "unusual".
The study was recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Usually when a substance changes from a liquid to a solid state, the freely flowing atoms line up in a rigid crystalline formation.
This phenomenon does not happen with glass: the atoms "freeze" in a disordered state before crystallization, which is why it is not a liquid, but an amorphous solid.
The study conducted by the German researchers finds that atoms have a complex behavior never seen before.
That is, atoms move, but they are unable to rotate.
The state appears to be there current form between the solid and colloidal phase.
By colloidal phase we mean: a dispersion of matter composed of two or more phases, usually a fluid (liquid or gaseous) and a dispersed one, in the form of very fine solid particles. Foam and gel are examples of the colloidal system.
Most of the experiments involving colloidal suspensions so far have relied on colloids or spherical particles.
From the study of the Cologne researchers, it was found that in nature deformed colloids prevail and created small plastic particles, stretching and cooling them until they have acquired elliptical shapes.
Liquid glass is the result of groups of these elliptical colloids that block each other: they move, but they don't rotate.
The particles are more flexible than glass molecules, but not enough to compare them to normal materials.
German researchers believe that the new state of matter can help shed light on the behavior of complex molecules and systems.
Source:
https://focustech.it/ Tech industry news
