Do theories of glass transition that address only the α-relaxation need a new paradigm?

Abstract Experimental evidence is presented to show that temperature, volume and/or entropy enter earlier into the Johari–Goldstein (JG) relaxation to assert their influence on the mobility of molecules, long before the primary α-relaxation becomes known. Since the JG relaxation is the precursor of α-relaxation, a theory of glass transition needs reconsideration if it considers only the α-relaxation and it regards the α-relaxation as where originate the dependences of molecular mobility on temperature, volume and/or entropy. Actually, many-molecule dynamics transform the precursory JG relaxation to the terminal α-relaxation progressively with time. The stronger dependences of the α-relaxation time τ α on temperature, volume and/or entropy are derived from the weaker dependences of the JG relaxation time τ JG . A schematic solution of the glass transition problem based on the coupling model and the JG relaxation is proposed.