Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 4, 2025

Comparison of Two Different Synthesis Methods of Single Crystals of Superconducting Uranium Ditelluride
Published on: July 8, 2021
Structural changes across thermodynamic maxima in supercooled liquid tellurium: A water-like scenario
Peihao Sun1,2, Giulio Monaco2, Peter Zalden3
1SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Abstract:
Liquid polymorphism is an intriguing phenomenon that has been found in a few single-component systems, the most famous being water. By supercooling liquid Te to more than 130 K below its melting point and performing simultaneous small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements, we observe clear maxima in its thermodynamic response functions around 615 K, suggesting the possible existence of liquid polymorphism. A close look at the underlying structural evolution shows the development of intermediate-range order upon cooling, most strongly around the thermodynamic maxima, which we attribute to bond-orientational ordering. The striking similarities between our results and those of water, despite the lack of hydrogen-bonding and tetrahedrality in Te, indicate that water-like anomalies may be a general phenomenon among liquid systems with competing bond- and density-ordering.
More Related Videos
08:55Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
09:46Protocol for Measuring the Thermal Properties of a Supercooled Synthetic Sand-water-gas-methane Hydrate Sample
Published on: March 21, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Heating and Cooling Curves
For instance, the addition of heat raises the temperature of a solid; the amount of heat absorbed depends on the heat capacity of the solid (q = mcsolidΔT). According to thermochemistry, the relation between the amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance, q, and its...
Third Law of Thermodynamics
Phase Diagram
Phase Diagrams
Entropy