It is now ten years since it was first convincingly shown that below 1 K the ther mal conductivity and the heat capacity of amorphous solids behave in a way which is strikingly different to that of crystalline solids. Since that time there has been a wide variety of experimental and theoretical studies which have not only defined and clarified the low temperature problem more closely, but have also linked these differences between amorphous and crystalline solids to those suggested by older acoustic and thermal experiments (extending up to 100 K). The interest in this somewhat restricted branch of physics lies to a considerable extent in the fact that the differences were so unexpected. It might be thought that as the tempera ture, probing frequency, or more generally the energy decreases, a continuum de scription in which structural differences between glass and crystal are concealed should become more accurate. In a sense this is true, but it appears that there exists in an amorphous solid a large density of additional excitations which have no counterpart in normal crystals. This book presents a survey of the wide range of experimental investigations of these low energy excitations, together with a re view of the various theoretical models put forward to explain their existence and nature.

This is an introductory textbook on amorphous magnets for students and scientists in physics and materials science. Basic physical arguments are given and experimental data are systematically collected and discussed. The book deals mostly with the qualitative and semiquantitative aspects of materials that can be deduced, in a relatively simple way, from the fundamental equations of solid state physics.

The discovery of bulk metallic glasses has led to a large increase in the industrial importance of amorphous metals, and this is expected to continue. This book is the first to describe the theoretical physics of amorphous metals, including the important theoretical development of the last 20 years. The renowned authors stress the universal aspects in their description of the phonon or magnon low-energy excitations in the amorphous metals, e.g. concerning the remarkable consequences of the properties of these excitations for the thermodynamics at low and intermediate temperatures. Tunneling excitations - another universal aspect of amorphous systems and responsible for many of their properties - is also intensively treated. Although the book is focused on analytical approaches, it also describes the numerical calculation of the atomic structure, the electronic excitations, and the itinerant magnetic properties of amorphous metallic alloys, while considering modern applications. While both theorists and experimentalist interested in amorphous metals will profit from this book, it will also be useful supplementary reading in courses on solid-state physics and material sciences.

A valuable overview covering important fundamental and applicative aspects of amorphous nanomaterials! Amorphous nanomaterials are very important in non-crystalline solids, which have emerged as a new category of advanced materials. Compared to the crystalline counterpart, amorphous nanomaterials with isotropic nature always exhibit fast ion diffusion, relieved strain, and higher reactivity, enabling such materials to exhibit high performance in mechanics and catalysis, as well as other interesting properties. Amorphous Nanomaterials: Preparation, Characterization, and Applications covers the fundamental concept, synthesis, characterization, properties, and applications of nanoscaled amorphous materials. It starts with the introduction of amorphous materials, then gives a global view of the history, structure, and growth mechanism of amorphous nanomaterials. Subsequently, some powerful techniques to characterize amorphous materials, such as X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, spherical aberration electron microscope, in-situ-Transmission Electron Microscope, Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy, and some other defect characterization technologies are included. Furthermore, the emerging innovative methods to fabricate well-defined, regularshaped amorphous nanomaterials, including zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional amorphous nanomaterials are systematically introduced. The fascinating properties and applications related to amorphous nanomaterials including the applications in electrocatalysis, batteries, supercapacitors, photocatalysis, mechanics, etc., are presented. It will greatly help the researchers to find professional answers related to amorphous materials. Great topic: amorphous nanomaterials are a very large and important field in both academia and industry Comprehensive: in-depth discussion of various important aspects, from both a fundamental and an applied point of view, on the chemistry, physics and technological importance of the amorphous nanomaterials are presented Vitally needed: the understanding of the fundamentals of amorphous nanomaterials is a prerequisite for devising new applications of such materials Highly relevant: amorphous nanomaterials have found specific applications in chemistry, catalysis, physics, sensing, batteries, supercapacitors, and engineering Amorphous Nanomaterials is a vital resource for materials scientists, inorganic and physical chemists, solid state chemists, physicists, catalytic and analytical chemists, as well as organic chemists.

This book presents some of the methods used in the theory of amorphous magnetism, from a single standpoint that amorphous magnets have a topologically disordered structure of the type given by the dense random packing of hard spheres.The primary aim is to show systematically the present theoretical apparatus in a form which would allow the reader to use it in investigations of still unsolved problems. Even within these limits, the theory of amorphous magnetism is now a very large subject. This book is not designed to review all the developments in this rapidly developing area. It is primarily intended for the novice in this field, rather than the specialist.

This book gives the first systematic and complete survey of technology and application of amorphous silicon, a material with a huge potential in electronic applications. The book features contributions by world-wide leading researchers in this field.

Amorphous Metallic Alloys covers the preparation and properties of alloys produced by rapid quenching from the molten state. This book focuses on three technologically important classes of magnetic amorphous alloy—transition metal-metalloid (TM-M) alloys, rare earth-transition metal (RE-TM) alloys, and transition metal-zirconium or hafnium alloys (TM-Zr-Hf). The melt-quenched transition metal-metalloid and transition metal-zirconium type alloys are also emphasized. This text likewise explains in detail how amorphous atomic structure affects magnetic, mechanical, chemical, corrosion, and electrical characteristics. Other topics include glass forming ability in metallic materials, scattering theory of amorphous metals, dynamics of inhomogeneous plastic flow, and powder production processes. This publication is intended for students and researchers conducting work on amorphous metallic alloys.