An investigation of metallic crystal formation on glass backing

Abstract

The project described in this paper was undertaken during the 1956-1957 academic year at the United States Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. The purpose of the project was to study the formation of thin metal films on glass backing. The apparatus used was constructed as a thesis project the previous school year. Several important and necessary modifications, however, were found desirable and were added to the existing system. To date there is little scientific knowledge which adequately explains the nature of metallic crystal formation on glass backing. A statistical interpretation of what occurs is presented herein, and a brief discussion of the observable results obtained is also included. It is hoped that this apparatus and these observations may aid future researchers in an attempt to explain more fully the phenomena investigated.