Bizarre Properties of Glass Allow Creation of "Metallic Glass"

VindictivePantz writes to mention that scientists have discovered some bizarre properties of glass and are already applying that knowledge to create what is being called "metallic glass." "The breakthrough involved solving the decades-old problem of just what glass is. It has been known that that despite its solid appearance, glass and gels are actually in a 'jammed' state of matter — somewhere between liquid and solid — that moves very slowly. Like cars in a traffic jam, atoms in a glass are in something like suspended animation, unable to reach their destination because the route is blocked by their neighbors. So even though glass is a hard substance, it never quite becomes a proper solid, according to chemists and materials scientists."

Comments

Re:Perpetuating old myths

[Khyber]

Not true. At room temp it would take MILLIONS of years for the glass to distort, not a mere few thousand. This can be tested by checking the viscosity of glass at different temperatures.

Re:Perpetuating old myths

[Khyber]

Glass does flow at room temperature. It would just take millions of years instead of a thousand years for you to notice. Glass at room temperature has a viscosity so high you can't perceive the flow without an electron microscope. Get that glass to about 1300 degrees Fahrenheit and you can mold it like slightly-hard silly putty.