Glasses begin to reveal their high pressure secrets
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 - 06:30
in Physics & Chemistry
The structural changes in glasses and liquids induced by high-pressure conditions can substantially alter their dynamical and transport properties. Unravelling the mechanisms behind these transformations is, however, a formidable task owing to the intrinsic disorder of the atomic arrangements and the need for small samples to attain high pressure conditions. In J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 24 502101, we show that neutron diffraction with isotope substitution can be used to disentangle the structural complexity of glass at pressures up to 8 GPa (80,000 atmospheres). The work reveals the nature of density-driven structural collapse. A new probe for the structure of materials under extreme conditions is introduced.