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In condensed matter physics and materials science, an amorphous solid (or non-crystalline solid) is a solid that lacks the long-range order that is characteristic of a crystal. The terms " glass " and "glassy solid" are sometimes used synonymously with amorphous solid; however, these terms refer specifically to amorphous materials that undergo ...
Amorphous solid: A solid in which there is no far-range order of the positions of the atoms. Crystalline solid : A solid in which atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in regular order. Quasicrystal : A solid in which the positions of the atoms have long-range order, but this is not in a repeating pattern.
An amorphism, in chemistry, crystallography and, by extension, to other areas of the natural sciences is a substance or feature that lacks an ordered form. In the specific case of crystallography, an amorphic material is one that lacks long range (significant) crystalline order at the molecular level.
An amorphous metal (also known as metallic glass, glassy metal, or shiny metal) is a solid metallic material, usually an alloy, with disordered atomic-scale structure. Most metals are crystalline in their solid state, which means they have a highly ordered arrangement of atoms. Amorphous metals are non-crystalline, and have a glass-like structure.
Glass is a non-crystalline or amorphous solid material that exhibits a glass transition when heated towards the liquid state. Glasses can be made of quite different classes of materials: inorganic networks (such as window glass, made of silicate plus additives), metallic alloys, ionic melts , aqueous solutions , molecular liquids, and polymers .
A glass building facade. Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline) solid.Because it is often transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window panes, tableware, and optics.
Thermally processed material is usually totally amorphous, [7] and as a result is highly transparent to visible light, with better light transmission than many kinds of glass. Polycarbonate has a glass transition temperature of about 147 °C (297 °F), [8] so it softens gradually above this point and flows above about 155 °C (311 °F). [9]
The scientific definition of a "crystal" is based on the microscopic arrangement of atoms inside it, called the crystal structure. A crystal is a solid where the atoms form a periodic arrangement. (Quasicrystals are an exception, see below). Not all solids are crystals.