Physicists create 'ideal glass' structure long thought impossible

Physicists led by Eric Corwin at the University of Oregon have created the first computer model of an “ideal glass,” a theoretical amorphous material with molecules packed as tightly and stably as possible without forming a crystal structure. This breakthrough addresses a long-standing question in materials science about how disordered materials like glass can maintain mechanical stability despite lacking the regular molecular order of crystals. By using advanced computational modeling, the team constructed a two-dimensional system of round disks arranged in the densest possible amorphous configuration, inspired by but distinct from the honeycomb pattern of crystals. Their simulated ideal glass exhibited mechanical properties comparable to crystalline solids, including stability under pressure, bending, and melting tests. The concept of an ideal glass was first proposed in 1948 by Walter Kauzmann, who theorized that cooling glass sufficiently could produce a perfectly stable amorphous state. However, such a state had never been observed in nature, leaving it purely theoretical until now. Corwin’s team bypassed