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States of Matter & Gas Laws

Amorphous Solid

A solid whose particles lack long-range order, showing only the short-range regularity characteristic of a frozen liquid.

Unit Dimensionless

In depth

Amorphous solids soften gradually over a temperature range instead of melting sharply, and they fracture with curved rather than flat surfaces because there are no cleavage planes. Their properties are isotropic, and they are sometimes described as supercooled liquids of enormous viscosity.

Examples in the real world

Glass, rubber, most plastics, and amorphous silicon used in thin-film solar cells.