It has been widely speculated that dominant motifs, such as short-range icosahedral order, can influence glass formation and the properties of glasses. Experimental data on both fragile and strong undercooled liquids show corresponding changes in their thermophysical properties consistent with increasing development of a network of interconnect motifs based on molecular dynamics. Describing these regions of local order, how they connect, and how they are related to property changes have been challenging issues, both computationally and experimentally. Yet the consensus is that metallic liquids develop interconnected medium-range order consisting of some regions with lower mobility with deeper undercooling. Less well understood is how these motifs (or “crystal genes”) in the liquid can inhibit nucleation in the deeply undercooled liquid or influence phase selection upon devitrification. These motifs tend to have local packing unlike stable compounds with icosahedral order tending to dominate the best glass formers. The underlying kinetic and thermodynamic forces that guide the formation of these motifs and how they interconnect during undercooling remain open questions.

广泛推测主要的图案，例如短二十面体顺序，会影响玻璃的形成和玻璃的性能。关于易碎和过冷液体的实验数据表明，它们的热物理性质发生了相应的变化，这与基于分子动力学的互连图案网络的不断发展相一致。无论是在计算上还是在实验上，描述这些当地秩序的区域，它们如何连接以及它们与财产变化之间的关系都是具有挑战性的问题。然而，共识是金属液体会发展出相互联系的中程秩序，其中包括一些流动性较低，过冷度更高的区域。鲜为人知的是，液体中的这些基序（或“晶体基因”）如何抑制深度过冷的液体中的成核或在失透时影响相的选择。这些图案倾向于具有局部堆积，这与具有二十面体顺序的稳定化合物不同，倾向于主导最好的玻璃形成剂。引导这些图案的形成以及在过冷期间它们如何相互连接的潜在动力学力和热力学力仍然是悬而未决的问题。