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Hub AI
Glass transition AI simulator
(@Glass transition_simulator)
Hub AI
Glass transition AI simulator
(@Glass transition_simulator)
Glass transition
The glass–liquid transition, or glass transition, is the gradual and reversible transition in amorphous materials (or in amorphous regions within semicrystalline materials) from a hard and relatively brittle "glassy" state into a viscous or rubbery state as the temperature is increased. An amorphous solid that exhibits a glass transition is called a glass. The reverse transition, achieved by supercooling a viscous liquid into the glass state, is called vitrification.
The glass-transition temperature Tg of a material characterizes the range of temperatures over which this glass transition occurs (as an experimental definition, typically marked as 100 s of relaxation time). It is always lower than the melting temperature, Tm, of the crystalline state of the material, if one exists, because the glass is a higher energy state (or enthalpy at constant pressure) than the corresponding crystal.
Hard plastics like polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) are used well below their glass transition temperatures, i.e., when they are in their glassy state. Their Tg values are both at around 100 °C (212 °F). Rubber elastomers like polyisoprene and polyisobutylene are used above their Tg, that is, in the rubbery state, where they are soft and flexible; crosslinking prevents free flow of their molecules, thus endowing rubber with a set shape at room temperature (as opposed to a viscous liquid).
Despite the change in the physical properties of a material through its glass transition, the transition is not considered a phase transition; rather it is a phenomenon extending over a range of temperature and defined by one of several conventions. Such conventions include a constant cooling rate (20 kelvins per minute (36 °F/min)) and a viscosity threshold of 1012 Pa·s, among others. Upon cooling or heating through this glass-transition range, the material also exhibits a smooth step in the thermal-expansion coefficient and in the specific heat, with the location of these effects again being dependent on the history of the material. The question of whether some phase transition underlies the glass transition is a matter of ongoing research.[when?]
Glass transition (in polymer science): process in which a polymer melt changes on cooling to a polymer glass or a polymer glass changes on heating to a polymer melt.
The glass transition of a liquid to a solid-like state may occur with either cooling or compression. The transition comprises a smooth increase in the viscosity of a material by as much as 17 orders of magnitude within a temperature range of 500 K without any pronounced change in material structure. This transition is in contrast to the freezing or crystallization transition, which is a first-order phase transition in the Ehrenfest classification and involves discontinuities in thermodynamic and dynamic properties such as volume, energy, and viscosity. In many materials that normally undergo a freezing transition, rapid cooling will avoid this phase transition and instead result in a glass transition at some lower temperature. Other materials, such as many polymers, lack a well defined crystalline state and easily form glasses, even upon very slow cooling or compression. The tendency for a material to form a glass while quenched is called glass forming ability. This ability depends on the composition of the material and can be predicted by the rigidity theory.
Below the transition temperature range, the glassy structure does not relax in accordance with the cooling rate used. The expansion coefficient for the glassy state is roughly equivalent to that of the crystalline solid. If slower cooling rates are used, the increased time for structural relaxation (or intermolecular rearrangement) to occur may result in a higher density glass product. Similarly, by annealing (and thus allowing for slow structural relaxation) the glass structure in time approaches an equilibrium density corresponding to the supercooled liquid at this same temperature. Tg is located at the intersection between the cooling curve (volume versus temperature) for the glassy state and the supercooled liquid.
The configuration of the glass in this temperature range changes slowly with time towards the equilibrium structure. The principle of the minimization of the Gibbs free energy provides the thermodynamic driving force necessary for the eventual change. At somewhat higher temperatures than Tg, the structure corresponding to equilibrium at any temperature is achieved quite rapidly. In contrast, at considerably lower temperatures, the configuration of the glass remains sensibly stable over increasingly extended periods of time.
Glass transition
The glass–liquid transition, or glass transition, is the gradual and reversible transition in amorphous materials (or in amorphous regions within semicrystalline materials) from a hard and relatively brittle "glassy" state into a viscous or rubbery state as the temperature is increased. An amorphous solid that exhibits a glass transition is called a glass. The reverse transition, achieved by supercooling a viscous liquid into the glass state, is called vitrification.
The glass-transition temperature Tg of a material characterizes the range of temperatures over which this glass transition occurs (as an experimental definition, typically marked as 100 s of relaxation time). It is always lower than the melting temperature, Tm, of the crystalline state of the material, if one exists, because the glass is a higher energy state (or enthalpy at constant pressure) than the corresponding crystal.
Hard plastics like polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) are used well below their glass transition temperatures, i.e., when they are in their glassy state. Their Tg values are both at around 100 °C (212 °F). Rubber elastomers like polyisoprene and polyisobutylene are used above their Tg, that is, in the rubbery state, where they are soft and flexible; crosslinking prevents free flow of their molecules, thus endowing rubber with a set shape at room temperature (as opposed to a viscous liquid).
Despite the change in the physical properties of a material through its glass transition, the transition is not considered a phase transition; rather it is a phenomenon extending over a range of temperature and defined by one of several conventions. Such conventions include a constant cooling rate (20 kelvins per minute (36 °F/min)) and a viscosity threshold of 1012 Pa·s, among others. Upon cooling or heating through this glass-transition range, the material also exhibits a smooth step in the thermal-expansion coefficient and in the specific heat, with the location of these effects again being dependent on the history of the material. The question of whether some phase transition underlies the glass transition is a matter of ongoing research.[when?]
Glass transition (in polymer science): process in which a polymer melt changes on cooling to a polymer glass or a polymer glass changes on heating to a polymer melt.
The glass transition of a liquid to a solid-like state may occur with either cooling or compression. The transition comprises a smooth increase in the viscosity of a material by as much as 17 orders of magnitude within a temperature range of 500 K without any pronounced change in material structure. This transition is in contrast to the freezing or crystallization transition, which is a first-order phase transition in the Ehrenfest classification and involves discontinuities in thermodynamic and dynamic properties such as volume, energy, and viscosity. In many materials that normally undergo a freezing transition, rapid cooling will avoid this phase transition and instead result in a glass transition at some lower temperature. Other materials, such as many polymers, lack a well defined crystalline state and easily form glasses, even upon very slow cooling or compression. The tendency for a material to form a glass while quenched is called glass forming ability. This ability depends on the composition of the material and can be predicted by the rigidity theory.
Below the transition temperature range, the glassy structure does not relax in accordance with the cooling rate used. The expansion coefficient for the glassy state is roughly equivalent to that of the crystalline solid. If slower cooling rates are used, the increased time for structural relaxation (or intermolecular rearrangement) to occur may result in a higher density glass product. Similarly, by annealing (and thus allowing for slow structural relaxation) the glass structure in time approaches an equilibrium density corresponding to the supercooled liquid at this same temperature. Tg is located at the intersection between the cooling curve (volume versus temperature) for the glassy state and the supercooled liquid.
The configuration of the glass in this temperature range changes slowly with time towards the equilibrium structure. The principle of the minimization of the Gibbs free energy provides the thermodynamic driving force necessary for the eventual change. At somewhat higher temperatures than Tg, the structure corresponding to equilibrium at any temperature is achieved quite rapidly. In contrast, at considerably lower temperatures, the configuration of the glass remains sensibly stable over increasingly extended periods of time.