One of the commonly perceived signatures of the glass transition event is the super-Arrhenius behavior of the dynamics that leads to an apparent divergence of the relaxation time or viscosity at a temperature above 0 Kelvin.  The common expression used to describe the behavior, generally based on equilibrium state dynamic data obtained above, but near to, the glass temperature Tg,is the so-called Vogel-Fulcher equation ?=?0 exp[B/(T-T0)] , where ?is the relaxation time, ?0 is a prefactor, B is an adjustable parameter, Tis the temperature and T0 is the temperature at which the relaxation time diverges.  Here we examine the accumulating evidence that even when a sample is tested in equilibrium at temperatures below the Tgthe dynamics deviate strongly from the Vogel-Fulcher behavior. In addition, new data from the fossil resin amber that are consistent with a lack of divergence is also examined.  The results are discussed in the context of classic and new theories.

Diverging time scales below the glass temperature: Accumulating evidence against the Vogel-Fulcher extrapolation

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.