Imaging nanoscale spatio-temporal thermal fluctuations

Spatial and temporal fluctuations of the electric polarization were imaged in polymer thin films near the glass transition using electric force microscopy. Below the glass transition the fluctuations are quasi-static, and spatial fluctuations were found to quantitatively agree with predictions for thermal fluctuations. Temporal fluctuations appear near the glass transition. Images of the space-time nanoscale dynamics near the glass transition are produced and analyzed.