Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing02:39

Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing

13.7K
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...
13.7K
Atomic Nuclei: Types of Nuclear Relaxation01:28

Atomic Nuclei: Types of Nuclear Relaxation

594
Nuclear relaxation restores the equilibrium population imbalance and can occur via spin–lattice or spin–spin mechanisms, which are first-order exponential decay processes.
In spin–lattice or longitudinal relaxation, the excited spins exchange energy with the surrounding lattice as they return to the lower energy level. Among several mechanisms that contribute to spin–lattice relaxation, magnetic dipolar interactions are significant. Here, the excited nucleus transfers...
594
Structures of Solids02:22

Structures of Solids

16.6K
Solids in which the atoms, ions, or molecules are arranged in a definite repeating pattern are known as crystalline solids. Metals and ionic compounds typically form ordered, crystalline solids. A crystalline solid has a precise melting temperature because each atom or molecule of the same type is held in place with the same forces or energy. Amorphous solids or non-crystalline solids (or, sometimes, glasses) which lack an ordered internal structure and are randomly arranged. Substances that...
16.6K
Molecular Comparison of Gases, Liquids, and Solids02:26

Molecular Comparison of Gases, Liquids, and Solids

50.3K
Particles in a solid are tightly packed together (fixed shape) and often arranged in a regular pattern; in a liquid, they are close together with no regular arrangement (no fixed shape); in a gas, they are far apart with no regular arrangement (no fixed shape). Particles in a solid vibrate about fixed positions (cannot flow) and do not generally move in relation to one another; in a liquid, they move past each other (can flow) but remain in essentially constant contact; in a gas, they move...
50.3K
Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation02:39

Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation

19.7K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
19.7K
Molecular and Ionic Solids02:54

Molecular and Ionic Solids

19.0K
Crystalline solids are divided into four types: molecular, ionic, metallic, and covalent network based on the type of constituent units and their interparticle interactions.
Molecular Solids
Molecular crystalline solids, such as ice, sucrose (table sugar), and iodine, are solids that are composed of neutral molecules as their constituent units. These molecules are held together by weak intermolecular forces such as London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, or hydrogen bonds, which...
19.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Non-exponential relaxation without dynamic heterogeneity in van der Waals liquids above the melting point.

The Journal of chemical physics·2026
Same author

On the role of internal degrees of freedom in structural relaxation of ring-tail structured liquids across temperature regimes.

Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP·2026
Same author

Identifying the Thermal Barriers of Glass Aging via Isoconversional Analysis.

The journal of physical chemistry. B·2026
Same author

Competing supramolecular structures: Dielectric and rheological spectroscopy on glycerol/propanol mixtures.

The Journal of chemical physics·2025
Same author

How Salt Solvation Slows Water Dynamics While Blue-Shifting Its Dielectric Spectrum.

The journal of physical chemistry letters·2025
Same author

On the spectral shape of the structural relaxation in supercooled liquids.

The Journal of chemical physics·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 9, 2025

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
06:26

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Published on: May 15, 2017

7.4K

Generic Structural Relaxation in Supercooled Liquids.

Florian Pabst1, Jan Philipp Gabriel1, Till Böhmer1

  • 1Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, Technical University of Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
|April 8, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Supercooled liquids exhibit a universal structural relaxation line shape in light scattering spectra across diverse systems. This generic behavior is obscured in dielectric spectra of highly dipolar liquids due to cross-correlations.

More Related Videos

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
16:24

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Published on: August 2, 2012

19.0K
Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
08:55

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

Published on: June 7, 2018

8.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 9, 2025

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
06:26

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Published on: May 15, 2017

7.4K
Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
16:24

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Published on: August 2, 2012

19.0K
Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
08:55

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

Published on: June 7, 2018

8.7K

Area of Science:

  • Condensed matter physics
  • Chemical physics
  • Materials science

Background:

  • Supercooled liquids present challenges in understanding dynamics.
  • The spectral shape of structural relaxation varies across methods and substances.
  • A universal line shape for structural relaxation has been debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the existence of a generic line shape for structural relaxation in supercooled liquids.
  • To compare spectral shapes obtained from different experimental techniques.
  • To identify factors influencing the observation of generic relaxation behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of light scattering spectra from diverse supercooled liquid systems (hydrogen bonding, van der Waals, ionic).
  • Analysis of dielectric spectra from similar systems.
  • Comparison of spectral line shapes across different methods and substances.

Main Results:

  • Light scattering spectra from various liquid systems superimpose well, revealing a generic line shape.
  • The generic line shape follows a power law ∝ ω-1/2 at high frequencies.
  • Dielectric spectra show generic behavior only in low dipole moment systems; high dipole moments introduce masking cross-correlations.

Conclusions:

  • A universal line shape for structural relaxation exists and is observable via light scattering in supercooled liquids.
  • Dielectric spectroscopy can obscure this generic behavior in systems with significant dipole moments.
  • Understanding these spectral differences is crucial for characterizing liquid dynamics.