Amorphous solid
solid, in which atoms and/or molecules are disordered like in a liquid
In condensed matter physics and materials science, an amorphous solid (or non-crystalline solid) is a solid that lacks the long-range order that is a characteristic of a crystal. The terms "glass" and "glassy solid" are sometimes used synonymously with amorphous solid; however, these terms refer specifically to amorphous materials that undergo a glass transition. Examples of amorphous solids include glasses, metallic glasses, and certain types of plastics and polymers.
Etymology
The term "Amorphous" comes from the Greek a ("without"), and morphé ("shape, form").
Structure
Amorphous materials have an internal structure of molecular-scale structural blocks that can be similar to the basic structural units in the crystalline phase of the same compound. Unlike in crystalline materials, however, no long-range regularity exists: amorphous materials cannot be described by the repetition of a finite unit cell. Statistical measures, such as the atomic density function and radial distribution function, are more useful in describing the structure of amorphous solids.
Although amorphous materials lack long range order, they exhibit localized order on small length scales. By convention, short range order extends only to the nearest neighbor shell, typically only 1-2 atomic spacings. Medium range order may extend beyond the short range order by 1-2 nm.
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