Capillarity‐Induced Smoothing of Glass Surfaces by Viscous Flow

Abstract

A theoretical and experimental study of the smoothing rates of corrugations on glass surfaces demonstrated that the decay in amplitude of periodic surface perturbations having wavelengths from 5 to 14 μm occurs because of the action of capillarity forces and that the rate of smoothing is controlled by viscous flow. This technique allows determination of the viscosity of glasses from 10 5 to 10 12 P. Also, a theoretical analysis of the decay of an isolated V‐shaped groove by viscous flow is presented.