Texts and Readings in Physical Sciences

Fragility is a key property of liquids---in particular glass-forming liquids---characterizing the rapidity of change of their dynamical properties when cooled near the glass transition. Given the diversity of glass-forming substances and their properties, fragility serves as an important organizing principle. Since the time the concept was introduced and extensively studied by C. Austen Angell, a leading authority on many aspects of liquid-state science in the mid 1980's, thousands of papers have been published analyzing fragility in a variety of liquids, extending and probing the basic concept. The current volume contains reviews by leading experts, and reprints of key articles on fragility. It thus contains material that is essential reading for anybody with a serious interest in liquids and glasses.