1976 Volume 62 Issue 12 Pages 1493-1502
X-ray diffraction measurements were made on the binary silicate systems Li2O-SiO2, Na2O-SiO2, and K2OSiO2 in the molten and glassy states. From these results, the following facts were quantitativel confirmed; X-ray diffraction patterns of alkali metal silicates in the molten state are similar to those in the glassy state. Molten alkali metal silicates mainly consist of SiO1., tetrahedral units up to the present experimental composition range i. e., 60 mol% alkali metal oxides. Namely the structural change in the fundamental units due to the addition of alkali metal oxides is not severe. These SiO4, tetrahedral units, however, distribute randomly with increasing the addition of alkali metal oxides. This is confirmed in the short range order parameter estimated from the pair correlation function.