Simulation shows colloids can form into non-crystalline state at below freezing temperatures

(Phys.org) —Two researchers working at Universita di Roma, Frank Smallenburg and Francesco Sciortino have shown via computer simulation that certain colloids can be made to form into a stable non-crystalline state at below freezing temperatures. In their paper published in the journal Nature Physics, the two describe how they used a computer simulation to manipulate virtual flexible bonds representing real colloids and discovered they could be made to hold their liquid-like structure even at very low temperatures.