Integro-Differential Equation for the Non-Equilibrium Thermal Response of Glass-Forming Materials: Analytical Solutions †.

An integro-differential equation describes the non-equilibrium thermal response of glass-forming substances with a dynamic (time-dependent) heat capacity to fast thermal perturbations. We found that this heat transfer problem could be solved analytically for a heat source with an arbitrary time dependence and different geometries. The method can be used to analyze the response to local thermal perturbations in glass-forming materials, as well as temperature fluctuations during subcritical crystal nucleation and decay. The results obtained can be useful for applications and a better understanding of the thermal properties of glass-forming materials, polymers, and nanocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]