Abstract
WE have constructed a random network1,2, three-dimensional model of the structure of vitreous silica. The data obtained from this model have yet to be refined statistically, but it is clear that the structure has approximately the right density, and the measured radial distribution of atoms about silicon and oxygen reference atoms is in good agreement with the radial distribution function obtained by Fourier transformation of neutron and X-ray scattering data3,4. It appears that there will be little or no systematic experimental bias in the individual building units or in the model as a whole; the range of Si—O—Si angle and O—Si—O angle in the model is also reasonable for what is known or inferred from refined X-ray structure investigations of the crystalline forms of silica.
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EVANS, D., KING, S. Random Network Model of Vitreous Silica. Nature 212, 1353–1354 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/2121353a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2121353a0
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