Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 17, 2026

The Mechanics of Poro-Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
Published on: March 10, 2023
Quantitative relations between cooperative motion, emergent elasticity, and free volume in model glass-forming
Beatriz A Pazmiño Betancourt1, Paul Z Hanakata2, Francis W Starr3
1Materials Science and Engineering, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899; and Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459 bpazminobeta@wesleyan.edu fstarr@wesleyan.edu jack.douglas@nist.gov.
Abstract:
The study of glass formation is largely framed by semiempirical models that emphasize the importance of progressively growing cooperative motion accompanying the drop in fluid configurational entropy, emergent elasticity, or the vanishing of accessible free volume available for molecular motion in cooled liquids. We investigate the extent to which these descriptions are related through computations on a model coarse-grained polymer melt, with and without nanoparticle additives, and for supported polymer films with smooth or rough surfaces, allowing for substantial variation of the glass transition temperature and the fragility of glass formation. We find quantitative relations between emergent elasticity, the average local volume accessible for particle motion, and the growth of collective motion in cooled liquids. Surprisingly, we find that each of these models of glass formation can equally well describe the relaxation data for all of the systems that we simulate. In this way, we uncover some unity in our understanding of glass-forming materials from perspectives formerly considered as distinct.
Related Concept Videos
Relation between Poisson's ratio, Modulus of Elasticity and Modulus of Rigidity
Generalized Hooke's Law
Strain and Elastic Modulus
Hooke's Law
Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers
As the step-growth polymerization involves step-wise condensation of monomers, the molecular weight also builds up eventually. Consequently, high molecular weight polymers are obtained at the late stages of the polymerization, where 99% of monomers have been consumed.
The extent of the...
Elasticity in Concrete

