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Physics and chemistry perspectives on three unsolved problems in glass science

Nature Reviews Physics (2026) Cite this article

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Abstract

The study of glasses and glass formation is a rich and technologically important area of research. This Perspective reviews recent progress in the field from the different points of view of chemistry and physics. At the heart of glass science are the super-Arrhenius temperature dependence of molecular relaxation processes and the nonexponential nature of relaxation functions. We discuss three questions motivated by these features and describe the progress of the past decade in answering them. The paper reviews experiments and simulations that probe growing and possibly diverging length scales associated with supercooling, the possibility of a thermodynamic transition to an ideal glass state underlying the glass transition, and new indications for universal relaxation functions describing molecular motion in deeply supercooled liquids. For each of these still largely unsolved problems, we illuminate the interplay between the universality often favoured by physicists and the specificity typical of the chemist approach.

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Fig. 1: Correlation lengths derived from simulations and experiments, generally increasing as temperature is lowered.
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Fig. 2: Experimental data indicating the potential role of a large length scale near the glass transition.
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Fig. 3: Probing the existence of an ideal glass state.
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Fig. 4: Locally preferred structures.
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Fig. 5: Linear-response data of glass-forming liquids.
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Acknowledgements

This paper is dedicated to the memory of two late friends and colleagues: A. Angell and J. H. Jensen. Angell was a source of inspiration for many of us in the glass field, and we have tried here to emulate his practice of identifying key questions. Jensen suggested around 1980 to focus on glass science at Roskilde University and always emphasized the importance of respecting the differences of disciplines. The authors are grateful to D. Coslovich, J. Forrest, L. Berthier, P. Harrowell and T. Schrøder for providing useful input to a preliminary version of the manuscript. This paper was supported by the VILLUM Foundation via grant VIL16515, by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) through the University of Wisconsin Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (DMR-2309000), and by Danmarks Nationalbank.

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  1. Glass and Time, IMFUFA, Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Jeppe C. Dyre

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Mark D. Ediger

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Dyre, J.C., Ediger, M.D. Physics and chemistry perspectives on three unsolved problems in glass science. Nat Rev Phys (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-026-00940-x

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