506 research outputs found
In situ measurements of density fluctuations and compressibility in silica glass as a function of temperature and thermal history
In this paper, small-angle X-ray scattering measurements are used to
determine the different compressibility contributions, as well as the
isothermal compressibility, in thermal equilibrium in silica glasses having
different thermal histories. Using two different methods of analysis, in the
supercooled liquid and in the glassy state, we obtain respectively the
temperature and fictive temperature dependences of the isotheraml
compressibility. The values obtained in the glass and supercooled liquid states
are very close to each other. They agree with previous determinations of the
literature. The compressibility in the glass state slightly decreases with
increasing fictive temperature. The relaxational part of the compressibility is
also calculated and compared to previous determinations. We discussed the small
differences between the different determinations
Influence of thermal history on the structure and properties of silicate glasses
We studied a set of float glass samples prepared with different fictive
temperature by previous annealing around the glass transition temperature. We
compared the results to previous measurements on a series of amorphous silica
samples, also prepared with different fictive temperature. We showed that the
modifications on the structure at a local scale are very small, the changes of
physical properties are moderate but the changes on density fluctuations at a
nanometer scale are rather large: 12 and 20% in float glass and silica, for
relative changes of fictive temperature equal to 13 and 25% respectively. Local
order and mechanical properties of silica vary in the opposite way compared to
float glass (anomalous behavior) but the density fluctuations in both glasses
increase with temperature and fictive temperature
Frequency Dependence of Aging, Rejuvenation and Memory in a disordered ferroelectric
We characterize in details the aging properties of the ferroelectric phase of
K Ta_{1-x} Nb_x O_3 (KTN), where both rejuvenation and (partial) memory are
observed. In particular, we carefully examine the frequency dependence of
several quantities that characterize aging, rejuvenation and memory. We find a
marked subaging behaviour, with an a.c. dielectric susceptiblity scaling as
, where is the waiting time. We suggest an
interpretation in terms of pinned domain walls, much along the lines proposed
for aging in a disordered ferromagnet, where both domain wall reconformations
and overall (cumulative) domain growth are needed to rationalize the
experimental findings.Comment: submitted to EPJ
Characterization of the glass transition in vitreous silica by temperature scanning small-angle X-ray scattering
The temperature dependence of the x-ray scattering in the region below the
first sharp diffraction peak was measured for silica glasses with low and high
OH content (GE-124 and Corning 7980). Data were obtained upon scanning the
temperature at 10, 40 and 80 K/min between 400 K and 1820 K. The measurements
resolve, for the first time, the hysteresis between heating and cooling through
the glass transition for silica glass, and the data have a better signal to
noise ratio than previous light scattering and differential thermal analysis
data. For the glass with the higher hydroxyl concentration the glass transition
is broader and at a lower temperature. Fits of the data to the
Adam-Gibbs-Fulcher equation provide updated kinetic parameters for this very
strong glass. The temperature derivative of the observed X-ray scattering
matches that of light scattering to within 14%.Comment: EurophysicsLetters, in pres
Dynamic sound attenuation at hypersonic frequencies in silica glass
In order to clarify the origin of the dominant processes responsible for the
acoustic attenuation of phonons, which is a much debatted topic, we present
Bril louin scattering experiments in various silica glasses of different OH
impurities content. A large temperature range, from 5 to 1500 K is
investigated, up to the glass transition temperature. Comparison of the
hypersonic wave attenuation in various samples allows to identify two different
processes. The first one induce s a low temperature peak related to
relaxational processes; it is strongly sensitive to the extrinsic defects. The
second, dominant in the hig h temperature range, is weakly dependent on the
impurities and can be ascribed to anharmonic interactions
Characterization of the glass transition in vitreous silica by temperature scanning small-angle X-ray scattering
The temperature dependence of the x-ray scattering in the region below the
first sharp diffraction peak was measured for silica glasses with low and high
OH content (GE-124 and Corning 7980). Data were obtained upon scanning the
temperature at 10, 40 and 80 K/min between 400 K and 1820 K. The measurements
resolve, for the first time, the hysteresis between heating and cooling through
the glass transition for silica glass, and the data have a better signal to
noise ratio than previous light scattering and differential thermal analysis
data. For the glass with the higher hydroxyl concentration the glass transition
is broader and at a lower temperature. Fits of the data to the
Adam-Gibbs-Fulcher equation provide updated kinetic parameters for this very
strong glass. The temperature derivative of the observed X-ray scattering
matches that of light scattering to within 14%.Comment: EurophysicsLetters, in pres
Minimal Surfaces, Screw Dislocations and Twist Grain Boundaries
Large twist-angle grain boundaries in layered structures are often described
by Scherk's first surface whereas small twist-angle grain boundaries are
usually described in terms of an array of screw dislocations. We show that
there is no essential distinction between these two descriptions and that, in
particular, their comparative energetics depends crucially on the core
structure of their screw-dislocation topological defects.Comment: 10 pages, harvmac, 1 included postscript figure, final versio
The solution of the puzzle of smectic-Q: The phase structure and the origin of spontaneous chirality
The so-called smectic-Q (SmQ) liquid crystal phase was discovered in 1983 in rod-like molecules, but its structure remain unclear in spite of numerous attempts to solve it. Herein, we report what we believe to be the solution: A unique bicontinuous phase that is non-cubic and is made up of orthogonal twisted columns with planar 4-way junctions. While SmQ had only been observed in chiral compounds, we show that this chiral phase forms also in achiral materials through spontaneous symmetry breaking. The results strongly support the idea of a helical substructure of bicontinuous phases and long-range homochirality being sustained by helicity-matching at network junctions. The model also explains the triangular shape of double-gyroid domains growing within a SmQ environment. SmQ-forming materials hold potential for applications such as circularly polarized light emitters that require no alignment or asymmetric synthesis
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