On the formation of metallic glass

The high cooling rate needed for preparing the metallic glass (MG) makes the nonequilibrium nature of glass formation more prominent and requires a better quenching technique than ever before. Here, we formulate the cooling process in an analytical way and figure out the determinants for cooling rate, and analyze the crystallization time with consideration of phase diagram. Based on the reduced glass transition temperature, Trg, for measuring the glass-forming ability (GFA), a more reasonable ΔTrg is proposed. Glass transition, especially in ever glass whose ground state is of glass, is discussed in terms of thermodynamics for phase transition. A fundamental law concerning the changing rate of entropy in a closed system is supposed to underlie the physics for glass formation. These results may help understand the glass formation principally and develop new and robust MGs technically.