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Concept
Amorphous solid
Summary
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 a glass transition. Examples of amorphous solids include glasses, metallic glasses, and certain types of plastics and polymers.
The term comes from the Greek a ("without"), and morphé ("shape, form").
Amorphous materials have an internal structure consisting of interconnected structural blocks that can be similar to the basic structural units found in the corresponding crystalline phase of the same compound. Unlike in crystalline materials, however, no long-range order exists. Amorphous materials therefore cannot be defined by a finite unit cell. Statistical methods, such as the atomic density function and radial distribution function, are more useful in describing the structure of amorphous solids.
Although amorphous materials lack long range order, they exhibit localized order on small length scales. Localized order in amorphous materials can be categorized as short or medium range order. By convention, short range order extends only to the nearest neighbor shell, typically only 1-2 atomic spacings. Medium range order is then defined as the structural organization extending beyond the short range order, usually by 1-2 nm.
Amorphous materials will have some degree of short-range order at the atomic-length scale due to the nature of intermolecular chemical bonding. Furthermore, in very small crystals, short-range order encompasses a large fraction of the atoms; nevertheless, relaxation at the surface, along with interfacial effects, distorts the atomic positions and decreases structural order. Even the most advanced structural characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, have difficulty distinguishing amorphous and crystalline structures at short-length scales.
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