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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Structural changes in amorphous solid water films on heating to 120-140 K and 150-160 K seen by positronium
1Department of Physics, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
Abstract:
Changes in the structure of amorphous solid water films, grown by vapour deposition on a copper substrate at 75 K and then held at 120 K for 10 min to effect pore collapse, have been observed in the ranges 122-139 K and 150-162 K using positronium annihilation spectroscopy. It is proposed that the former is associated with the glass transition, with an effective activation energy of 0.266(3) eV. The data for the latter, which exhibit minima suggesting the temporary introduction of molecular disorder, can be processed to yield an effective activation energy of 0.47(2) eV, and are consistent with either a structural reorganization of the crystalline lattice or a relaxation of the amorphous structure mediated by defect migration.
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