This book gives a pedagogical introduction to the physics of amorphous solids and related disordered condensed matter systems. Important concepts from statistical mechanics such as percolation, random walks, fractals and spin glasses are explained. Using these concepts, the common aspects of these systems are emphasized, and the current understanding of the glass transition and the structure of glasses are concisely reviewed. This second edition includes new material on emerging topics in the field of disordered systems such as gels, driven systems, dynamical heterogeneities, growing length scales etc. as well as an update of the literature in this rapidly developing field.

This book gives a pedagogical introduction to the physics of amorphous solids and related disordered condensed matter systems. Important concepts from statistical mechanics such as percolation, random walks, fractals and spin glasses are explained. Using these concepts, the common aspects of these systems are emphasized, and the current understanding of the glass transition and the structure of glasses are concisely reviewed. This second edition includes new material on emerging topics in the field of disordered systems such as gels, driven systems, dynamical heterogeneities, growing length scales etc. as well as an update of the literature in this rapidly developing field.

This self-contained text introduces the physics of structurally disordered condensed systems at the level of advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Clearly presented and amply illustrated it provides stimulating and novel coverage of a difficult area. In this second edition, the treatment of the mode coupling theory of the glass transition has been enlarged and now connects to a new section on collective excitations in disordered systems.

This book presents a consistent mathematical theory of the non-electronic physical properties of disordered and amorphous solids, starting from the atomic-level dynamics and leading to experimentally verifiable descriptions of macroscopic properties such as elastic and viscoelastic moduli, plasticity, phonons and vibrational spectra, and thermal properties. This theory begins with the assumption of the undeniable existence of an “amorphous lattice”, which allows one to relegate the theoretical uncertainties about the ultimate nature of the glass transition to a subsidiary role and thus take a more pragmatic approach towards the modelling of physical properties. The book introduces the reader not only to the subtle physical concepts underlying the dynamics, mechanics, and statistical physics of glasses and amorphous solids, but also to the essential mathematical and numerical methods that cannot be readily gleaned from specialized literature since they are spread out among many often technically demanding papers. These methods are presented in this book in such a way as to be sufficiently general, allowing for the mathematical or numerical description of novel physical phenomena observed in many different types of amorphous solids (including soft and granular systems), regardless of the atomistic details and particular chemistry of the material. This monograph is aimed at researchers and graduate-level students in physics, materials science, physical chemistry and engineering working in the areas of amorphous materials, soft matter and granular systems, statistical physics, continuum mechanics, plasticity, and solid mechanics. It is also particularly well suited to those working on molecular dynamics simulations, molecular coarse-grained simulations, as well as ab initio atomistic and DFT methods for solid-state and materials science.

Written by renowned researchers in the field, this up-to-date treatise fills the gap for a high-level work discussing current materials and processes. It covers all the steps involved, from vitrification, relaxation and viscosity, right up to the prediction of glass properties, paving the way for improved methods and applications. For solid state physicists and chemists, materials scientists, and those working in the ceramics industry. With a preface by L. David Pye and a foreword by Edgar D. Zanotto