Thermodynamic-kinetic correlations in supercooled liquids: A critical survey of experimental data and predictions of the random first-order transition theory of glasses

Thermodynamics and kinetics are thought to be linked in glass transitions. The quantitative predictions of alpha-relaxation activation barriers provided by the theory of glasses based on random first-order transitions are compared with the experimental results for 44 substances. The agreement found between the predicted activation energies near T-g and experiment is excellent. These predictions depend on the configurational heat capacity change on vitrification and the entropy of melting the crystal which are experimental inputs.