Can any material form a glass?

This paper describes a new approach to answer the question posed in the title, which has remained unanswered for a long time. We provide estimates of the glass forming tendencies (GFT) of a variety of materials in terms of <f>G</f> values. The <f>G</f> value of a material is determined by a combination of at least three factors; bond energies, structures and viscosities. A functional form of <f>G</f> is proposed and is calculated using minimum and readily available physicochemical parameters. <f>G</f> appears to quantify GFT on a universal scale and rationalize known GFTs in both single and multicomponent materials. (<f>G</f> is also shown to have a predictive potential.) [Copyright &y& Elsevier]