A research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Institute of Technology has discovered that tiny whirl‑like defects, called vortices, dictate how a liquid becomes a glassy, amorphous solid when it is cooled rapidly. Using computer simulations, the scientists watched millions of particles as they slowed down and rearranged themselves. They found that the particles’ motion creates a complex field of positive and negative vortices—tiny swirling regions that appear and disappear as the temperature drops. In the moderate cooling range, small clusters of these vortices are closely linked to the material’s ability to relax and flow. As the liquid is cooled further into the deep‑undercooling zone, the vortices undergo abrupt topological changes, linking together into longer vortex lines that can trigger larger‑scale rearrangements. These sudden shifts explain why the material’s relaxation slows dramatically and deviates from simple Arrhenius predictions. By mapping the number, shape, and transitions of these vortices, the researchers built a new framework that unifies the dynamic behavior across all cooling stages. Their findings open a fresh, topological perspective on why glasses form and could guide the design of stronger, more reliable amorphous materials.
Read moreFrom December 8‑10, 2026, the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center will host the 5th China Nuclear Energy High‑Quality Development Conference and the Shenzhen International Nuclear Energy Industry Innovation Expo. Spanning 100,000 sq m, the event expects more than 800 domestic and overseas companies and about 150,000 professional visitors, making it the world’s largest gathering of nuclear‑energy players. A headline attraction is the "World’s Largest Nuclear Fusion Exhibition," a 20,000 sq m showcase of the latest breakthroughs in fusion research and commercialisation. Fusion, hailed as the ultimate clean‑energy solution, is moving fast worldwide, with governments and private firms pouring money into tokamak and stellarator technologies. China’s own projects—such as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) and the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR)—will be highlighted alongside private‑sector innovators. The expo covers the full nuclear‑energy value chain: fuel, power‑plant engineering, advanced equipment, digital control, cybersecurity, waste management, radiation safety, and more. Over ten high‑level forums will discuss topics ranging from smart plant operation and robotics to digitalisation, advanced materials, and spare‑part logistics. Major state‑owned groups (CNNC, CGN, Huaneng, SPIC, Datang, CEIC) and global giants like Rosatom, EDF, Framatome and Orano will be present, underscoring the sector’s rapid growth and its role in China’s "dual‑carbon" (net‑zero) goals.
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