Chapter 3: Common Properties of Disordered Materials

That there were density fluctuations and soft states in disordered materials, and that they added to the low-temperature specific heat, and scattered phonons strongly limiting the thermal conductivity were not particularly surprising; such systems had been seen and understood in crystals (Narayanamurti and Pohl, 1970). That these states appeared to have properties independent of the glass’ local connectivity was new, interesting, and to students looking for a handle with which to control the effect, rather frustrating. This chapter will review the measurements made and the range of properties which have been seen…