Structural relaxation by digital-correlation spectroscopy

Abstract

The utility of digital-correlation spectroscopy for investigating structural relaxation in liquids on time scales from 1 μsec to 1 sec is established. A digital correlator was used to analyze the Rayleigh scattering of light from undercooled glycerol. The correlation function obtained is related to the isothermal structural relaxation dynamics of the liquid. The data were found to join smoothly with those obtained ultrasonically at higher temperatures.