Metals are usually crystalline and seldom amorphous. Most ceramics are crystalline, but there are significant examples of amorphous ceramics (glass). Polymers are most often amorphous and partially crystalline, but much less often fully crystalline. (1 point each part, 5 points total)
a. Why do metals almost always crystallize upon solidifying from the melt?
b. Can metals be produced in an amorphous state and how?
c. Which ceramic materials are most likely to be crystalline and which more likely to be amorphous?
d. Why would we want to produce amorphous ceramics that cannot be easily crystallized?
e. Why is it so difficult to produce crystalline, or even partially crystalline, polymers?