Oxide Glasses in Light of the “Ideal Glass” Concept: II, Interpretations by Reference to Simeple Ionic Glass Behavior*

Abstract

The conclusions from Part I of this paper, that glasses formed from certain fused salt mixtures and aqueous electrolyte solutions closely approach a thermodynamically ideal state, is the basis for a discussion of various properties of molten oxide mixtures and the glasses that may be formed from them. The relevant properties of the simple ionic liquids are summarized, and the electrical conductance behavior of a halide analog of the silica‐alkali oxide systems is analyzed to provide a bridge for relating the nonideal behavior of the complex glasses to the near‐ideal behavior of the simple ion systems. Specific cases of silicate and borate glass behavior discussed are the compactibility of high‐silica glasses, the transport behavior in the region of the “boron anomaly,” the relation between viscosity and electrical conductance, and certain structural problems concerning the coordination of multivalent cations in melts and glasses. Finally, some points from the development pertaining to glass‐crystal relations and the nucleation problem are considered.