Twinkle, twinkle
Doctoral student captures images of Twinkling Fractal Theory
9:25 a.m., April 29, 2011--Joseph Stanzione, a doctoral student in chemical engineering at the University of Delaware, has documented new evidence supporting Professor Richard P. Wool’s Twinkling Fractal Theory (TFT).
TFT is a conceptual approach to understanding the nature and structure of the glass transition in amorphous materials. Developed in 2008, the theory provides a quantitative way of describing the process by which glassy materials transform from a molten state to a solid. The phenomenon was previously explained from a strictly empirical perspective.
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“Glass transition in amorphous materials remains a major unsolved problem in solid-state physics,” said Stanzione, who is advised by Wool.
Stanzione has captured new images of the proposed twinkling solid fractal structure in atactic polystyrene using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The one-dimensional images, taken in a time-lapse format, allow scientists to "see" in real time how clusters of molecules "talk to each other" through their vibrations.
“This is not only important for understanding the complexities of the glass transition. It also can lend new insight into how our own biological molecules work dynamically in controlling cellular activity, which is the basis for life itself,” said Wool.
Stanzione presented his experimental findings during the Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Symposium, held March 28 as part of the American Chemical Society’s national meeting in Anaheim, Calif. He also received the 2011 POLY Division Excellence in Graduate Polymer Science award at the conference for his original work.
For the full story on Wool’s Twinkling Fractal Theory, click here.
Article by Karen B. Roberts