Abstract
We proposed a conceptual model of the basic structure and the rearrangement of molecules in liquids and glasses; 1) a liquid/glass is an aggregate of the regions within each of which the molecular arrangement possesses some short/medium-range order due to the mutual interaction of molecules, 2) both the α and β processes are the rearrangement motions of a molecule (or of part of the molecule) and the construction of the rearrangement units is essentially independent of temperature, 3) the α process is the rearrangement of a molecule present inside the regions, and the β one in between the regions, and 4) the non-Arrhenius property of the α-relaxation times is due to the development of the ordering inside the regions, namely to the increase in the activation energy for the rearrangement of the molecule, with decreasing the temperature. Based on this model, a) the enthalpy-relaxation functions were characterized in terms of the non-Arrhenius property of and the presence of the distribution in the relaxation times, b) a homogeneous-nucleation-based crystal growth process was discovered, c) the generation/extinction of crystal embryos/nuclei at much lower temperatures than the glass-transition temperature was detected, and d) presence of plural phases in a liquid was pursued.
https://ror.org/0112mx960 
