Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M5455

Glass Transition

Glass Transition
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

The phenomenon in which amorphous materials (such as glass, plastics) transform from a viscous or rubbery state to a hard and brittle glassy state as temperature decreases. This process is not an instantaneous phase transition but a gradual freezing process.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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A gradual transition from flexibility to rigidity. It metaphorically represents the stiffening process of organizations or thinking. In early stages, an organization is like molten glass, fluid and plastic; over time (cooling), it gradually loses elasticity and eventually sets into a hard but brittle glassy state. To maintain innovation, one must continuously "heat" to sustain the rubbery state.

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Amorphous polymers reversibly transition from a rubbery state to a glassy state upon cooling; the transition temperature is called the glass transition temperature (Tg). The mechanism is the freezing of polymer chain segment motion.

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_transitionZH · Explicit
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