Question

Amorphous solids don't break but they can surely be cut down with irregular surfaces. Give reasons.

Answer 1

The substances which have physical properties such as electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, refractive index etc. in different directions in the space are called anisotropic substances the property is called as anisotropy.

So, an isotropic solid will have the same refractive index in all the directions. Hence, amorphous solids are isotropic in nature. In amorphous solids the arrangement of particles is randomly disordered, therefore properties are independent of direction. On the other hand, the particles in crystalline solids are arranged orderly. Thus the arrangement of particles may be different in different directions.

Cleavage - A crystalline solid when cuts with a sharped edged tool such as knife it gives a clean cleavage but an amorphous solid undergoes an irregular cleavage i.e. when an amorphous solid is cut with a sharp edged tool, it cuts into two pieces with irregular surfaces.