SSP - 1

Presentation
Muhammad Salman Haider
Noreen Fatima
Nazia M.Ali
Phys – 3401
Contents
• Crystalline and non-crystalline solids
• Glasses, definition
• Formation
• Properties
• Types
• Applications
• Methods to achieving glasses
• FAQs
 Crystalline Solids
Definition:
Crystalline solids have a regular, three-dimensional arrangement of
atoms, molecules, or ions.
Structure:
Crystalline solids have a long-range order, meaning their atoms
are arranged in a repeating pattern.
Properties:
- High melting point - High thermal conductivity - Anisotropic
(direction-dependent) properties - Can exhibit cleavage
Examples:
Metals, minerals, and some polymers

Non-Crystalline Solids
(Glassy and amorphous solids)
Definition:
Solids in which atoms, molecules or ions are arranged in
irregular or random order are non crystalline or amorphous solids.
Structure:
Non-crystalline solids have a short-range order, meaning their
atoms are arranged randomly.
Properties:
- Low melting point - Low thermal conductivity - Isotropic
(direction-independent) properties - Do not exhibit cleavage
Examples: Glasses, amorphous metals, and some polymers
 Glasses
Definition:
Glasses are amorphous solids that lack the long range order chararcteristics of
crystalline materials, meaning their atoms or molecules are randomly arranged.
The most common and familiar form of glass is silica glass which is
composed largely of silicon oxide (Si𝐎𝟐 ).

The definition of glass does not restrict either the composition or the
optical properties of the material, implying a wide variety of different materials that
are considered glass. In fact, theoretically, any crystalline solid that can be brought to
a liquid state, can be forced into an amorphous solid state through rapid
solidification via extraordinary cooling rates.

A very common crystalline solid, has the same

composition as silica glass (Si𝐎𝟐 ) but was cooled slowly
enough to form long-range order.
 Glasses
Formation:
The transition from a liquid to a glass occurs when a liquid is
cooled below its freezing temperature without crystallization. This process leads to
a rigid, disordered structure.
This process leads to a rigid,
disordered structure. This unique structure
imparts distinctive properties to glasses,
such as transparency and brittleness.
Properties:
A very common crystalline solid, has
the same composition as silica glass (Si𝐎𝟐 )
but was cooled slowly enough to form long
range order.
Non-silica glasses, in particular
metallic glasses, can obtain unique electric,
optical, or thermal properties from their
crystalline counterparts through glassification.
Non-metallic glasses can obtain similarly unique
properties by adjusting elemental compositions
 Glasses
Mechanical Properties:
Glasses are typically hard and brittle due to their
disordered atomic structure.
Glass has a relatively high elastic modulus (around 50–100 GPa),
meaning it doesn't deform much under normal loads but instead fractures when its
strength limit is exceeded.
The elastic modulus governs how much a material bends or deflects
under load — the stiffer the material (higher E), the smaller the deflection.
Glasses are typically very hard materials. Silicate glasses, for
example, have a Vickers hardness of 5–7 GPa
 Glasses
Optical Properties:
Silica glass is transparent in the visible spectrum.
Although there are crystalline materials that are similarly transparent, they
have several properties which make them undesirable as optical media in
many cases; though each grain may be transparent, grain boundaries reflect
and/or scatter light in poly crystalline materials ,unless cut along specific
planes, the faces of crystals are forced to conform to a rigid geometric order
which may also scatter light.

The lack of grain boundaries in glasses contributes to their

transparency, making them ideal for applications like windows and lenses.
The optical application of glasses isn’t limited to the
visible spectrum; infrared (IR) filters are important components of IR
photography, spectroscopy, and data storage. Example IR filter chalcogenide
glasses.
 Glasses
Electrical Properties:
Pure silica glass is a well-known insulator, having a
resistivity on the order of 1014 ohm m.Glass is especially desirable in the field of
semiconductors for its insulating properties; in device fabrication, glass is
deposited between metals or semiconductors as very thin insulators.
Doped glass, such as phosphosilicate (phosphorus doped) or
borophosphosilicate (boron and phosphorus doped) are often used instead of pure
silica glass for their lower melting temperatures and increased planarization
(forming smooth flat surfaces).
 Glasses
Though having a higher conductivity that silica
glasses, metallic glasses have significantly lower
electrical conductivity than their crystalline
counterparts, on the same order as the metals’
liquid counterpart, as a result of the molecular
disorder.
Of particular interest is the electrical
properties of amorphous metals at low
temperatures (~2-40K); within this
range the resistivity of the material
increases linearly, unlike the
non-linear behavior of crystalline
metals, theoretically due to the lack
of phonon scattering (organized
lattice vibrations)
 Glasses
Thermal Properties:
Silica glass is commonly considered to be very susceptible
to thermal shock and breaks or cracks easily when suddenly changing temperatures.
This is true for the cheapest and most common form of glass which is soda-lime-silica
glass, which contains roughly 30% sodium oxide (Na2O), lime (CaO), magnesia (MgO)
and alumina (Al2O3).
Soda-lime has a coefficient of thermal expansion of 93.5E-7
cm/cm.°C, which describes the relative increase in size per degree Celsius change in
temperature. Pure or nearly pure (~96%) silica glass has a small coefficient of thermal
expansion of 7.5E-7 cm/cm.°C due to the homogeneity of the solid.

Glass does play a huge role in

thermal insulation in the form of fiber glass and
glass wool. Glass wool involves the production of
very thin strands on soda-lime glass to form a low
density packing material. Glass wool can
achieve higher specific heats than either
glass or water on the order of 7 J/g.K.
 Glasses
Types of Glasses
Oxide Glasses:
1. Silica Glass:
Made from silicon dioxide (SiO2), it's the most common type of
glass.
2. Soda-Lime Glass:
A mixture of silicon dioxide, sodium oxide, and calcium oxide,
commonly used in bottles and windows.
3. Borosilicate Glass:
Made from silicon dioxide and boron trioxide, it's known for its
thermal shock resistance and is often used in laboratory equipment.
 Glasses
Chalcogenide Glasses
1. Sulfide Glasses:
Made from sulfur and other elements, they're used in
infrared optics and optical storage devices.
2. Selenide Glasses:
Made from selenium and other elements, they're used in
photocopiers and solar panels.
 Glasses
Metallic Glasses
Amorphous Metal Alloys:
Made from a mixture of metals, they're known for
their high strength, corrosion resistance, and magnetic properties.
 Glasses
Applications of Glasses:
Building and Construction
Windows and Doors: Glass is widely used in windows, doors, and facades of
buildings.
Glass Flooring: Glass flooring is used in high-rise buildings, shopping malls, and
other public spaces.
Glass Walls: Glass walls are used in offices, homes, and other buildings to provide
natural light and aesthetic appeal.
Electronics and Optics
Display Screens: Glass is used in display screens of smartphones, tablets, and
laptops.
Fiber Optics: Glass fibers are used in telecommunications for transmitting data as
light signals.
Semiconductor Manufacturing: Glass is used as a substrate material in
semiconductor manufacturing.
Medical and Healthcare
Laboratory Equipment: Glass is used in laboratory equipment, such as test tubes,
beakers, and flasks.
Medical Devices: Glass is used in medical devices, such as syringes, vials, and
ampoules.
Dental Materials: Glass is used in dental materials, such as dental fillings and
crowns.
 Glasses
Methods to achieving Glass:
Creating some glass requires massive cooling rates, on the order of 105 K/s.
These cooling rates can be achieved by a variety of methods including:
Fast Quenching:
Quickly submerging a material in a liquid of a significantly lower
temperature (generally oil or water) to solidify a material before long range ordering
can occur.
Splat/Roller Quenching:
A sample melt is pressed by or rolled through internally
cooled (water or liquid nitrogen) rollers or anvils causing near instantaneous cooling
and solidification.
Melt Spinning:
An internally cooled wheel (water or liquid nitrogen) is rotated and a
thin stream of liquid is dripped onto the wheel causing it to rapidly solidify.
Sputtering:
Atoms are ejected due to bombardment of high energy particles on the
surface, causing the ejected particles to be deposited on nearby surfaces. Used to
create thin-films of amorphous solids.
Aerodynamic Levitation:
The levitation of a sample by streams of gas. Can be used
on a melt to prevent nucleation as it cools thus resulting in glassy materials.
 Glasses
Applications of Glasses:
Building and Construction
Windows and Doors: Glass is widely used in windows, doors, and facades of
buildings.
Glass Flooring: Glass flooring is used in high-rise buildings, shopping malls, and
other public spaces.
Glass Walls: Glass walls are used in offices, homes, and other buildings to provide
natural light and aesthetic appeal.
Electronics and Optics
Display Screens: Glass is used in display screens of smartphones, tablets, and
laptops.
Fiber Optics: Glass fibers are used in telecommunications for transmitting data as
light signals.
Semiconductor Manufacturing: Glass is used as a substrate material in
semiconductor manufacturing.
Medical and Healthcare
Laboratory Equipment: Glass is used in laboratory equipment, such as test tubes,
beakers, and flasks.
Medical Devices: Glass is used in medical devices, such as syringes, vials, and
ampoules.
Dental Materials: Glass is used in dental materials, such as dental fillings and
crowns.
 FAQs
Question:
Why are glasses more desirable in optics than their crystalline
counterparts?
Answer:
Glasses, due to their amorphous nature, lack the light-scattering grain
boundaries present in crystals. Similarly, the amorphous nature of glass allows for
molecularly smooth curved surfaces, unrestricted by lattice ordering constraints.
Question:
How could changing the index of refraction of glass be beneficial?
Answer:
Glasses used in fiber optics require low refractive indices in order to maintain
the total internal reflection condition within the core for long distances.
Question:
What is a 'phonon' and why would these not have the same electron-
scattering effects in metallic glass?
Answer:
A 'phonon' is a collective organized vibration or excitation of atoms in a
periodic lattice. A glass, by definition, lacks an organized lattice or crystal structure
and thus any phonon formation would be unlikely and small, unable to scatter
electrons reliably.