Scientists open new window on the physics of glass formation

Research from an international team of scientists has cast new light on the physics of vitrification - the process by which glass forms. Their findings, which centre on analysis of a common feature of glasses called the boson peak, could help pave the way for new developments in materials science. The peak can be observed in glass when special equipment is used to study the vibrations of its constituent atoms, where it spikes in the terahertz range. The boson peak also gives glasses a characteristic additional heat capacity over crystals formed from the same material. The extra-low vibrations of atoms or molecules that cause the boson peak are believed to play a role in whether a cooling liquid forms a glass or a crystal, but the process is still not fully understood. In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from the UK, Slovenia and Japan outline how they worked together to analyse and model how the boson peak emerges in samples of tetrabutyl orthosilicate - a viscous liquid that does not crystallise and is used in the production of some types of glass. Professor Klaas Wynne, of the University of Glasgow's School of Chemistry, is one of the paper's corresponding authors.