The physics of glassy materials and disordered solids presents students with an area of study much more challenging than the physics of crystalline solids. Written by two recognized experts in the field, this highly readable book tackles the subject with the student firmly in mind, beginning with a pedagogical introduction to important concepts such as percolation, fractals, spin glasses, and glasses. Making use of these concepts, the authors show that such systems share many common aspects that can be described within the framework of statistical mechanics. The book is also an essential standard text for researchers on amorphous materials, equally accessible for theorists and experimentalists.

Contents:

• Structure and Dynamics of Disordered Matter
• Models of Disordered Structures
• General Concepts and Physical Properties of Disordered Matter
• Supercooled Liquids and the Glass Transition

“The book's clear introduction to the whole set of problems at the physical level helps readers feel comfortable with various complex mathematical models of disordered systems ... I recommend that students of the physics and chemistry of glasses and disordered materials or experienced researchers in the subject not pass up this book. If developing a general theory of amorphous states is possible, Glassy Materials and Disordered Solids is an excellent starting point for that work.”