What is it about?
The structure of liquid CaAl2O4 at the high temperature of 1973 K was measured by neutron diffraction and compared to the structure of the glass. The results were interpreted with the aid of molecular dynamics simulations. Hence, the structural reorganization that occurs on glass formation was characterised.
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Why is it important?
Calcium aluminates are of interest because of their geological, technological, and scientific importance. They are classified as very "fragile" glass formers meaning that the liquid viscosity changes rapidly on quenching to form a glass. Our work shows that the process of glass formation is accompanied by significant structural changes that occur not only in the character of the network-forming motifs but also in the nature of the intermediate ranged cationic ordering. The results will apply to other magma related liquids.
Perspectives
It was great to be able to access very high temperatures by using laser-heated aerodynamic levitation where a liquid droplet is suspended in a gas stream.
Professor Philip S Salmon
University of Bath
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Structural Transformations on Vitrification in the Fragile Glass-Forming System CaAl 2 O 4 , Physical Review Letters, December 2012, American Physical Society (APS),
DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.109.235501.
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