Power-law behavior in the viscosity of supercooled liquids

Abstract

We present experimental results on the viscosity of supercooled aqueous solutions of lithium chloride. The viscosity scales as (T-${T}_{0}$${)}^{\ensuremath{\mu}}$ with \ensuremath{\mu}=-2.08 over a large temperature range. Data on other systems show that both the power-law behavior and the approximate value of the exponent \ensuremath{\mu} are typical for a wide variety of fluids. The region of power-law behavior occurs at much higher temperatures and lower viscosities than are normally associated with the glass transition. The results are discussed in the context of several recent theories of structural relaxation in glassy liquids.