Noncrystalline (NC) solids, as is well known, lack the long range order of crystals. Accordingly, they exhibit scattering, e.g., x-ray, electron, and neutron, but not the diffraction patterns characteristic of crystals. The intensity distributions from NC solids are usually transformed into radial distribution functions (RDF), but the interpretation of the RDF's is not unique. The lack of long-range order, and the non-uniqueness of the structural interpretation, have constituted the main obstacles to the usual solid state physics approach which has been so successful in dealing with crystals. As a corrolary, questions of local order and structure have frequently been de-emphasized. This monograph contains a collection of chapters many of which emphasize local-structure and chemical bonding as opposed to long-range order. Most of the chapters were chosen from talks given at the international symposium, "Structure and Bonding in Noncrystalline Solids," held in Reston, Virginia in May of 1983. Other chapters, however, were simply submitted independently of the Reston conference. Thus, this book is not a proceedings of that conference, nor was it ever intended to be. The chapters presented here range from theory of bonding and structure, to structurally oriented measurements of various kinds, e.g., ESR, Raman, to more applied chapters. Our goal was to produce a monograph that enhances understanding of the structures of NC solids.

Klappentext

Noncrystalline (NC) solids, as is well known, lack the long­ range order of crystals. Accordingly, they exhibit scattering, e.g., x-ray, electron, and neutron, but not the diffraction patterns characteristic of crystals. The intensity distributions from NC solids are usually transformed into radial distribution functions (RDF), but the interpretation of the RDF's is not unique. The lack of long-range order, and the non-uniqueness of the structural interpretation, have constituted the main obstacles to the usual solid state physics approach which has been so successful in dealing with crystals. As a corrolary, questions of local order and structure have frequently been de-emphasized. This monograph contains a collection of chapters many of which emphasize local-structure and chemical bonding as opposed to long-range order. Most of the chapters were chosen from talks given at the international symposium, "Structure and Bonding in Noncrystalline Solids," held in Reston, Virginia in May of 1983. Other chapters, however, were simply submitted independently of the Reston conference. Thus, this book is not a proceedings of that conference, nor was it ever intended to be. The chapters presented here range from theory of bonding and structure, to structurally oriented measurements of various kinds, e.g., ESR, Raman, to more applied chapters. Our goal was to produce a monograph that enhances understanding of the structures of NC solids.

Inhalt
Applicability of the Molecular Dynamics Technique to Simulate the Vitreous Silica Surface.- Statistical Mechanics of Chemical Disorder: Applications to Simple Glasses.- Bond Equilibrium Theory and its Implications for the Structure of Glasses.- Curved Space Approach to the Relation Between Long Range Disorder and Local Order in Amorphous Tetra Tetracoordinated Semiconductors.- Electronic Structures of Crystalline and Amorphous Silicon Dioxide and Related Materials.- Non-Exponential Relaxations in Disordered Systems.- Characteristic Temperature and Bond Strength of Oxides in Inorganic Glasses.- Semiempirical Molecular Orbital Studies of Intrinsic Defects in a-SiO2.- Electronic Properties of SiO2 and Models for its Point Defects.- Raman Structural Correlations from Stress-Modified and Bombarded Vitreous Silica.- Vibrational Studies of Glass Structure and Localized Interactions.- Study of Amorphous to Microcrystalline Structure Change of Hydrogenated Si What Stabilizes the Amorphous Phase?.- Structural Implications of Gas Transport in Amorphous Solids.- A. C. Conduction in Chalcogenide Glasses.- NMR Study of Structure and Bonding in Glasses.- Magic-Angle Sample Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Silicate Glasses: A Review.- Investigation of the Glassy Properties of Neutron and Electron Irradiated Crystalline Quartz Related to the Anomalous Low Temperature Dynamics of Non-Crystalline Solids.- Thermal Bleaching of ?-Ray-Induced Defect Centers in High Purity Fused Silica by Diffusion of Radiolytic Molecular Water.- Local Atomic Structure in Transition Metal/Metalloid Glasses: Ni-P.- Crystal-Structure Data as a Tool for Interpreting LAXS (Large Angle X-ray Scattering) Studies of Amorphous Inorganic Compounds.- Contributors.