Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Based on a correlation found between the thermal stability of elemental noncrystalline solids and crystalline polymorphism it is suggested that the structure of noncrystalline solids is composed of atomic bonds of the crystalline polymorphs. For noncrystalline solids, each covalent element has a narrow range of stability that correlates on the basis of group number and number of polymorphic forms. Many metallic elements, however, have a reported wide range of stability, which are divided into two characteristic ranges. The Bernal or random close-packed structure is proposed for metallic noncrystalline solids with low thermal stability whereas impurity-induced polymorphic bonding is proposed for the instances of high thermal stability.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Wang et al. (1977) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: