40 Years Of Entropy And The Glass Transition

Articles: configurational entropy approach to the kinetics of glasses; entropy theory and glass transition: a test by Monte Carlo simulation; entropy and fragility in supercooling liquids; entropy crises in glasses and random heteropolymers; Adams-Gibbs formulation of enthalpy relaxation near the glass transition; evidence for glass and spin-glass phase transitions from the dynamic susceptibility; entropy, free volume, and cooperative relaxation; and confirmational entropy contributions to the glass temperature of blends of miscible polymers. Charts, tables and graphs.

About sixty years ago, the anomalous magnetic response of certain magnetic alloys drew the attention of theoretical physicists. It soon became clear that understanding these systems, now called spin glasses, would give rise to a new branch of statistical physics. As physical materials, spin glasses were found to be as useless as they were exotic. They have nevertheless been recognized as paradigmatic examples of complex systems with applications to problems as diverse as neural networks, amorphous solids, biological molecules, social and economic interactions, information theory and constraint satisfaction problems.This book presents an encyclopaedic overview of the broad range of these applications. More than 30 contributions are compiled, written by many of the leading researchers who have contributed to these developments over the last few decades. Some timely and cutting-edge applications are also discussed. This collection serves well as an introduction and summary of disordered and glassy systems for advanced undergraduates, graduate students and practitioners interested in the topic.

Describes and interrelates the following processes: cooperative alpha processes in a cold liquid, structural relaxation in the glass near Tg, the Johari-Goldstein beta process, the Williams-Götze process in a warm liquid, fast nonactivated cage rattling and boson peak, and ultraslow Fischer modes.

This book describes the structure-property-composition relationships for silicate glasses and melts of industrial and geological interest. From Antiquity to the 20th century, an introductory chapter presents this subject in a historical perspective. Basic concepts are then discussed in three chapters where attention is paid to the glass transition and its various consequences on melt and glass properties, to the structural and physical differences between amorphous and crystalline silicates, and to the mutual relationships between local order, energetics and physical properties. With pure SiO2 as a starting point, compositions of increasing chemical complexity are successively dealt with in a dozen chapters. The effects of network-modifying cations on structure and properties are first exemplified by alkali and alkaline earth elements. The specific influence of aluminum, iron, titanium, and phosphorus are then reviewed. With water, volatiles in the system COHS, noble gases, and halogens, the effects of volatile components are also described. The last chapter explains how the results obtained on simpler melts can be applied to chemically complex systems. In each chapter, physical and chemical properties are described first and followed by a review of glass and melt structure. When possible, pressure effects are also considered. *From SiO2 to complex silicate compositions, the physical and chemical properties of melts and glasses of geological and industrial interest*Structural characterization of melts and glasses, from ambient to high pressure and temperature*From basic concepts to an advanced level, a consistent description of the structure-property-composition relationships in glasses and melts

The book provides comprehensive, up-to-date information on the physical properties of polymers including, viscoelasticity, flammability, miscibility, optical properties, surface properties and more. Containing carefully selected reprints from the Wiley's renowned Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology, this reference features the same breadth and quality of coverage and clarity of presentation found in the original.

Protein folding and aggregation is the process by which newly synthesized proteins fold into the specific three-dimensional structures defining their biologically active states. It has always been a major focus of research in biochemistry and has often been seen as the unsolved second part of the genetic code. In the last 10 years we have witnessed a quantum leap in the research in this exciting area. Computational methods have improved to the extent of making possible to simulate the complete folding process of small proteins and the early stages of protein aggregation. Experimental methods have evolved to permit resolving fast processes of folding reactions and visualizing single molecules during folding. The findings from these novel experiments and detailed computer simulations have confirmed the main predictions of analytical theory of protein folding. In summary, protein folding research has finally acquired the status of a truly quantitative science, paving the way for more exciting developments in the near future. This unique book covers all the modern approaches and the many advances experienced in the field during the last 10 years. There is also much emphasis on computational methods and studies of protein aggregation which have really flourished in the last decade. It includes chapters in the areas that have witnessed major developments and are written by top experts including:computer simulations of folding, fast folding, single molecule spectroscopy, protein design, aggregation studies (both computational and experimental). Readers will obtain a unique perspective of the problems faced in the biophysical study of protein conformational behaviour in aqueous solution and how these problems are being solved with a multidisciplinary approach that combines theory, experiment and computer simulations. Protein Folding, Misfolding and Aggregation Classical Themes and Novel Approaches is essential reading for graduate students actively involved in protein folding research, other scientists interested in the recent progress of the field and instructors revamping the protein folding section of their biochemistry and biophysics courses.