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Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing02:39

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Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
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Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Published on: September 26, 2016

String-like cooperative motion in homogeneous melting.

Hao Zhang1, Mohammad Khalkhali, Qingxia Liu

  • 1Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2V4, Canada. hao.zhang@ualberta.ca

The Journal of Chemical Physics
|April 6, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that crystal melting involves collective atomic motion and defects acting as active agents. These defects initiate and propagate motion, driving melting through a topological transition, unlike static defect models.

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Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses

Published on: June 7, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Computational Physics

Background:

  • Melting is a fundamental phenomenon lacking a universally accepted theory.
  • Early simulations suggested collective atomic motion plays a key role in melting.
  • Understanding melting is crucial for materials science and condensed matter physics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate collective atomic motion during crystal melting using molecular dynamics simulations.
  • To compare melting dynamics in superheated Nickel (Ni) crystals with glass-forming (GF) liquids.
  • To explore the role of defects in initiating and propagating melting.

Main Methods:

  • Molecular dynamics simulations of "superheated" Nickel crystals.
  • Analysis of atomic motion, structural relaxation, and defect dynamics.
  • Comparison of simulation findings with properties of glass-forming liquids.

Main Results:

  • Observed string-like collective atomic motion in Ni crystals, distinct from GF liquids.
  • Identified a boson peak, but no stretched exponential relaxation or decoupling.
  • Demonstrated that interstitial defects initiate and propagate collective motion, driving melting via a topological transition.

Conclusions:

  • Crystal defects are dynamic agents, not static entities, in melting.
  • Melting involves a topological transition where ring-like exchanges open into linear chains.
  • The nonlinear dynamics of defects provide a novel perspective on crystal melting.