Bizarre Properties of Glass Revealed | LiveScience

[jason]

Bizarre Properties of Glass Revealed | LiveScience

Scientists have made a breakthrough discovery in the bizarre properties of glass, which behaves at times like both a solid and a liquid.

The finding could lead to aircraft that look like Wonder Woman’s plane. Such planes could have wings of glass or something called metallic glass, rather than being totally invisible.

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.

How can this not be the coolest thing you’ll learn today. I ask you?

Comments

[ashenseraph.livejournal.com]

We were just discussing Wonder Woman's plane this past weekend. What was the point of it being invisible, but not her? "Hey, look, there's a sitting woman flying through the air in star-spangled panties!" Made no sense at all.

[complicittheory.livejournal.com]

er. I think that that WAS the point. You should see Mystery Men. there's the guy who is invisible but ONLY if no one is looking at him. It saved the day. Or Incredibles... the girl is invisible, and they make a suit that goes invisible when she does. Times have changed.

Or one of the star trek movies where they make transparent aluminum. :)

[mallory-blog.livejournal.com]

If you go to Europe - to a really old church or castle or something - a building with very old glass windows and if you look close you will notice that the windows have slumped or they are thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top.

And, if you give someone a diamond you are really contextually giving them a lump of coal (they been bad) as diamonds are slumping to become the rather slimey graphite stuff (a lubricant) which is one reason you have to have your diamonds tightened, because they are ALWAYS in the business of becoming both smaller and slimier...

[complicittheory.livejournal.com]

Yes! Was there all last month and got a chance to see it is everywhere.

But then again, if you give them a diamond, you're just giving compressed flesh too! With some impurities :)