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Glasses, lacking the order of crystals, are in many ways still regarded as poorly understood. Yet glasses, lacking the complications of different crystallographic symmetries, also show some remarkable correlations of diverse properties.
Modern studies show the wide range of possibilities for exploiting the glassy state – and that state is certainly not confined to conventional silicate systems (familiar in windows, spectacles and drinking vessels). This talk will focus on more exotic glassy systems. A few of these will be presented, touching on such questions as: how to do better at golf, how not to freeze (or indeed desiccate) to death, and how to improve your (computer’s) memory. The scientific focus is on the comparison of, and transitions between, crystalline and glassy states, treating questions of crystal nucleation and growth. The aim is to show that these questions are not only of fundamental scientific interest; they have important practical applications in structures, medicine and information technology.
Professor A. L. Greer (University of Cambridge, Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy)