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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 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").
A prediction (Latin præ-, "before," and dicere, "to say"), or forecast, is a statement about a future event or data. They are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge. There is no universal agreement about the exact difference from "estimation"; different authors and disciplines ascribe different connotations. Future events are necessarily uncertain, so guaranteed accurate information about the future is impossible. Prediction can be useful to assist in making plans about possible developments.
In statistical mechanics, thermal fluctuations are random deviations of an atomic system from its average state, that occur in a system at equilibrium. All thermal fluctuations become larger and more frequent as the temperature increases, and likewise they decrease as temperature approaches absolute zero. Thermal fluctuations are a basic manifestation of the temperature of systems: A system at nonzero temperature does not stay in its equilibrium microscopic state, but instead randomly samples all possible states, with probabilities given by the Boltzmann distribution.
Amorphous solids such as coffee foam, toothpaste, or mayonnaise display a transient creep flow when a stress E is suddenly imposed. The associated strain rate is commonly found to decay in time as gam
AMER PHYSICAL SOC2022
, , ,
Amorphous solids yield at a critical value Sigma(c) of the imposed stress Sigma through a dynamical phase transition. While sharp in athermal systems, the presence of thermal fluctuations leads to the
AMER PHYSICAL SOC2021
Amorphous solids are structurally disordered. They are very common and include glasses, colloids, and granular materials, but are far less understood than crystalline solids. Key aspects of these mate