Nucleation and thermophysical properties of glass-forming liquids

The intimate links among structure, nucleation, and thermophysical properties are demonstrated from a few select experiments on high-melting-temperature metallic alloy liquids, made possible by containerless processing techniques. To complement the ground-based studies, future experiments on the International Space Station using a new electromagnetic levitation facility developed by the European Space Agency are discussed. The knowledge obtained from these studies is expected to deepen the understanding of supercooled liquid properties, elucidate their role in nucleation and glass formation, and test and develop more advanced theories of nucleation. All of these are expected to improve liquid phase processing techniques for crystalline and amorphous materials so that better functional properties may be achieved.