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Science 29 October 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5697, pp. 820 - 821
DOI: 10.1126/science.1104417
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Perspectives

CHEMISTRY:
Polymorphism in Liquids

Jeff L. Yarger and George H. Wolf

Some solid compounds can exist in two or more "polymorphs" with different atomic structures but the same chemical composition. Similar behavior has been observed for glasses and liquids, where the phenomenon is termed "polyamorphism." In their Perspective, Yarger and Wolf highlight the reports by Katayama et al. and Tanaka et al., who have observed polymorphism between two different liquids in phosphorus and triphenyl phosphite, respectively. This observation in single-component systems is unusual and sheds light on the thermodynamics of liquid-liquid phase transitions.

J. L. Yarger is in the Department of Chemistry, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA. E-mail: yarger{at}uwyo.edu G. H. Wolf is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. E-mail: gwolf{at}asu.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)